There were three major stadium fights in Britain during the year, with a combined live gate of about 220,000 people; there were smaller stadium fights and probably 10 fights with 15,000 fans at indoor arenas. In September, for the first time since it started in 1974, the World Amateur Championships came to Britain; the action in Liverpool was exceptional, the coverage abysmal.

Boxing expert Steve Bunce writes:

Boxing expert Steve Bunce has described Anthony Joshua’s end to the year as “wild and tragic”.

Writing in The Independent, he said: “This was a wild and tragic end to the year for Joshua. He knocked out Jake Paul in a glorious carnival fight in Miami six days before Christmas, and then 10 days later was injured in this fatal car crash in Nigeria, losing these two friends. The Paul fight was watched by 30m on Netflix; the boxers shared over $100m. They were both winners. In the end, just two days before the new year, the whole Miami sideshow was forgotten; it never mattered to Joshua, he survived the carnage and that is all that really mattered.”

Boxing expert Steve Bunce described Ghami and Ayodele as "a massive part of the Anthony Joshua machine".

"They've been with him, if not from the start, at least very early on. Latz is AJ's personal trainer and Sina is his strength and conditioning man. They are with him all the time," Bunce, who is a columnist for The Independent, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He calls them his boys. They're more than that. They are friends. They may have strict jobs, they might be his strength and conditioning coach, his personal trainer, his dietitian, his nutritionist, but they're close and he loves that close circle.

"Sina and Latz are massive parts of the Anthony Joshua machine."

Anthony Joshua is recovering in hospital in Nigeria after being involved in a car crash that killed two of his close friends and members of his team.

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, confirmed the families of Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, who were killed in the crash, have been notified.

Joshua has been visited by the deputy head of the British High Commission in Nigeria while the country’s president Bola Ahmed Tinubu spoke separately with Joshua and his mother.

Joshua remains in a stable condition and a statement from Mr Abiodun said: “We are comfortable with the doctors and the quality of care at the hospital, and we appreciate the medical team for their professionalism.”

Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, a team member and friend of Anthony Joshua, has been confirmed as one of the two people killed in the fatal car crash in Lagos, Nigeria on Monday.

Known as healthy_mindset on social media, Latz has been by Joshua's side over the last decade of his career.

He was seen with AJ playing table tennis in a video shared on Instagram stories just four hours before news broke of the car crash, which has left Joshua "badly shaken" but with only "minor injuries".

Sina Ghami, a team member, physio and friend of Anthony Joshua, has been confirmed as one of the two people killed in the fatal car crash in Lagos, Nigeria on Monday.

Known as sina_evolve on social media, Sina has played a pivotal role in Joshua's most recent training camp and fight against Jake Paul.

He was seen working on Joshua in the last month, providing deep-tissue massaging and aiding the two-time former world heavyweight champion with deep stretching.

Sina posted an Instagram story less than five hours before news broke of the car crash, which has left Joshua "badly shaken" but with only "minor injuries".

Anthony Joshua was sat behind the driver, according to eyewitnesses, and was one of four travelling in a Lexus SUV when it crashed into a stationary truck on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

We now know two of the four were killed and they have been named as Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, both 36 and “close friends” of the two-time heavyweight champion.

Joshua’s security team were following in a separate car, a Pajero SUV.

The crash happened on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at about 11 a.m. local time on Monday. The road links the Ogun state to Lagos and a 50mph speed limit is in place, according to local media reports.

A spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps said preliminary investigations indicated the vehicle was "traveling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit” and “lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre” before it crashed into a stationary truck by the side of the road.

The Ogun State Police Commissioner, Lanre Ogunlowo, told ESPN that the accident happened as a result of a “burst tire” on the vehicle which caused the driver to lose control and the vehicle to swerve into the stationary truck parked along the road”.

A statement from Joshua’s promoter Matchroom Boxing confirmed the two men who died in the crash as Kevin Ayodele, known as Latz, and Sina Ghami.

Both men were 36 and were longtime friends and associates of Joshua.

“With profound sadness it has been confirmed that two close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele have tragically passed away,” a statement said.

“Matchroom Boxing and 258 BXG can confirm that Anthony sustained injuries in the accident and was taken to hospital for checks and treatment. He is in a stable condition and will remain there for observation.”