“I sparred with the ABA champion. He’s red hot, him. He’s very good,” Fury said.
Fury explained that he had expected a controlled session but was caught off guard by Joshua’s intensity.
“He rushed out at me, then, bash, he hit me with a right uppercut right on the point of my chin. If I’d have had a bit of a weak chin, I’d have been knocked out for a month,” Fury said.
He went further when reflecting on the full spar.
“I class myself as one of the best heavyweights in the world and he came at me for three rounds and he gave me a beating,” Fury said. “I’m not going to deny it. He gave me what for, hell for leather for three rounds.”
Fury was quick to separate sparring from a professional fight but still acknowledged Joshua’s level at the time.
“I tell it like it is. If the kid was no good, I’d say it. But he is good, and I’ll tell anyone that he beat me up in sparring.”
The clip has circulated again after Joshua referenced the session during a recent face-off, bringing the long-standing story back into focus.
The version of Anthony Joshua from the ABA days was a physical specimen with a “seek and destroy” mentality. Back then, he hadn’t yet developed the more cautious, technical approach we’ve seen later in his career.
At 21, Fury was still finding his man strength. His shots were often flicking and aimed at creating hesitation rather than causing damage. For a young, hungry Joshua, those slapping shots were just an invitation to close the distance.
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