Anthony Joshua paid tribute to two close friends killed in a car crash in December as he returned to the ring for the first time since the tragedy.Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele died while the car they were travelling in struck a truck on a road near Lagos in December. The pair were on holiday with Joshua after he beat Jake Paul in Miami. The heavyweight boxer, who was also in the vehicle, was taken to hospital before being discharged and flying home to the UK – where he attended the funerals of his strength and conditioning coach Ghami and Ayodele, one of his trainers.Returning to the ring after seven months of inactivity, Joshua beat Albanian Kristian Prenga by knockout in the second round – despite being knocked down twice himself in the first.Fighting in honour of Ghami and Ayodele, Joshua paid tribute to his friends by having their names printed on his military camouflage trunks. He also walked to the ring wearing a military-style jacket to match his camo shorts. The jacket featured a medal bar displaying the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO titles – which he previously held – alongside pennants bearing Ghami and Ayodele’s names.Meanwhile, ‘Latz x Sina, My Brother’s Keeper, MBK’ was printed on the canvas in his corner. Anthony Joshua wears jacket featuring medal bar with ‘Sina’ and ‘Latz’ pennants Joshua’s friends were honoured by having their names printed on the canvasAsked about how he has been coping after beating Prenga, Joshua said: ‘It’s been tough,’ before becoming emotional. ‘That’s my brothers. I don’t want to talk about that.’ Speaking on DAZN, Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn added: ‘Nobody can imagine what he’s been through in that last seven months. In that first round, I thought we’d come back too soon.’Boxing got him through. To even be in the ring tonight is astonishing. You don’t know what he’s been through. He had to go to the depths one more time to get up, like he has done the last seven months.’In February, Joshua memorialised Ghami and Ayodele by having their names tattooed on his arm.Oleksandr Usyk was ringside for the clash in Jeddah to support Joshua, whom he beat twice in world title fights. Usyk has been working closely with Joshua, supporting his training camp. Victory for Joshua means he is on track to finally fight Tyson Fury in a long-awaited British heavyweight showdown.