The battle for spot as Britain’s best heavyweight as ongoing for almost a decade now, with the failures to make illusive showdown only adding to the uncertainty amongst domestic fight fans. Now, with Anthony Joshua on the rise and whispers that the pair could meet beginning to circulate, ‘AJ’ has recalled his first encounter and spar with Tyson Fury.
Fury famously upset the odds when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko for the unified heavyweight titles in Germany, ending an era of Eastern European domination that had taken the spark away from the division. However, Fury’s reign was short-lived due to issues outside of the ring, causing him to withdraw from the rematch against the Ukrainian and vacate the belts.
Meanwhile, serial knockout-artist and Olympic gold medallist Joshua had proven himself worthy of a world title shot after 15 stoppage wins in as many fights and he duly obliged with a second-round victory over IBF champion Charles Martin.
After a couple of title defences, ‘AJ’ moved on to Klitschko himself and extended his knockout streak, simultaneously swinging the pendulum of support and convincing the British masses that he was both the man to get behind and the best heavyweight on the planet.
In an interview on the ‘This Life of Mine’ podcast, Joshua reminisced of the time that Fury realised he was a threat, remembering how ‘The Gypsy King’ stopped praising him after initial plaudits following their spar.
“This guy called Tyson Fury, I had no idea who he was, comes out into the gym and the word on the street was that Tyson said he is the best heavyweight and that if anyone knocks him out, they get his Rolex watch. I’m looking at the cash, I said ‘Rolex yeah? Let’s go!’.
“The bell goes, we go at it. I think that we sparred about three or four rounds. Even Tyson actually, he did an interview promoting the fight saying ‘there is this kid called Anthony Joshua, I sparred him down at Finchley Boxing Club and I will tell you what, he is s**t hot. I believe that he is going to go on and do great things, he hit me with a shot and nearly took my head off’.
“After that, the praise stopped because I was on his coattails, so I started chasing him up the division. That fight is one that has never been so close.”
Since Fury’s comeback, the pendulum has continued to swing, with Fury’s victories over Deontay Wilder and Joshua’s defeats to Oleksandr Usyk leading to beliefs that Fury was levels ahead of his rival. Although, an upcoming title challenge for a resurgent Joshua, coupled with Fury’s first career defeat make the proposed contest appear more competitive than ever.
Finally, there is a growing feeling that the spectacle is around the corner, as Saudi kingpin Turki Al-Alshikh sets his sights on achieving the impossible once more and appeasing the appetites of fans that have been starved of quality match-up’s in recent years.
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