Tyson Fury has made a bold claim about his one and only spar with Anthony Joshua back in 2009.
The pair are due to finally face off later this year after nearly a decade of back-and-forths. Both Fury and Joshua must overcome so-called “warm up fights” this week to set up the long-awaited showdown. Fury will face Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand, whilst Joshua takes on Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Fury and Joshua may finally square off this year but it won’t be the first time the pair have been in a ring with one another.
Back in 2009, when Joshua had recently become ABA champion and Fury was carving his way in the professional game, the two young heavyweights sparred at Finchley ABC in London. Joshua has claimed he beat Fury up that day, but when Fury was asked for his recollection of events – although he admitted his memory was hazy – had a much different story.
“He was an amateur boxer and I was a professional, maybe 10-0 or something, so there wasn’t much to think about,” Fury told BoxingScene. “There were a lot of people there, so there were a lot of witnesses there.
“I remember him putting his legs up in the ropes after about three rounds, turning away in the corner. I’ve sparred maybe 400 or 500 heavyweights and I don’t remember much of any of them really. The vivid memory I do have of it, though, is in about round three, he started putting legs up, and in round four he started putting his knees up in the corner.
“I was like ‘What the f*** is this?’ Then they pulled him out and put somebody else in.”
This is not the first time Fury has spoken of the famous spar with Joshua, back in 2009, soon after the famous rounds were shared between the two, Fury was full of praise for the young heavyweight.
“He’s red hot, him, he’s very good,” Fury told Steve Bunce. “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 continued. “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.”
