Anthony Joshua gave Tyson Fury a 'beating' during early sparring session

06/07/2024 20:22

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are only known to have sparred once and it didn’t go well for ‘The Gypsy King’.

Back in 2010, when Fury was an up-and-coming pro and Joshua was a young hungry amateur the pair locked horns at Finchley Boxing Club.

At the time, Fury was 11-0 and had just beaten John McDermott in their rematch for the English heavyweight title.

Keen to build on the momentum of his victory, Fury wrote a guest column in Boxing News magazine calling for sparring partners to step up.

The Mancunian offered anyone who could knock him out in sparring an expensive Rolex watch and although Joshua wasn’t able to achieve the feat, Fury admits he got ‘battered’ by AJ for three rounds.

Speaking a few weeks after the session, Fury told BBC Radio London: “I went down to Finchley Boxing Club and I sparred with the ABA champion, Anthony Joshua.

"He’s red hot, him, he's very good. To be honest with you, I thought to myself, 'I'm only going to take it easy as he's an amateur and we probably won't spar again if I go mad.’

"He's rushed out at me, he threw a one-two and a left hook and I slipped. I thought, ‘He's not that good, I'm going to take my time.’

"Then bash, he gives me a big uppercut right on the point of the chin.

“If I’d have had a bit of a weak chin like David Price, I’d have been knocked out for a month.

"He's very, very good and he’s only young, 20, watch out for that name Anthony Joshua he is one prospect for the future.

"He came out at me for three rounds and he gave me a beating – I'm not going to deny it, he gave me hell for leather for three rounds.

“I thought 'Oh my god, an amateur is killing me.' Being a professional, and I've been an amateur myself and fought all over the world, I slowed him down a bit with a few good body shots.

"The kid’s only 20, and I'm a handful myself, so for him to put up a good performance like that against a top prospect in me, I think he's one for the future."

In 2016, Joshua gave his side of the story but chose not to delve into the same detail as Fury did.

 “I just got my head guard on, gum shield in, and we just cracked on,” he told Sky Sports.

“Me and him just had a straight war. What I learned about Fury is we’ve got the same heart. We’re both fighting people and we go to war.

‘I didn’t manage to knock him out. We both hit each other with some big shots, powerful shots.

“Years ago he predicted ‘watch out for the kid, he’ll be heavyweight champion of the world one day’ – and he got his prediction right.”

Joshua had only been boxing for two years at the time yet another two years later he would win gold at the London Olympics and turn over as a pro.

Fury and Joshua have both been slated to face each other on several occasions in the paid ranks.

However, nothing has come to fruition as of yet.

For now, the only encounter we have to go off is their 2010 sparring session at Finchley ABC.