“I sparred with the ABA champion. He’s red hot, he. He’s very good,” Fury said.
Fury explained that he expected a controlled session but was caught off guard by Joshua’s intensity.
“He lunged at me, then, bash, he hit me with a right uppercut right on the point of my chin. If I’d had a bit of a weak chin I’d have been knocked out for a month,” Fury said.
He went on as he reflected on the full fir.
“I rate myself as one of the best heavyweights in the world and he came at me for three rounds and he beat me,” Fury said. “I’m not going to deny it. He gave me what, hell for leather for three rounds.”
Fury was quick to separate sparring from a professional fight, but still acknowledged Joshua’s level.
“I tell it like it is. If the kid wasn’t good, I’d say it. But he’s good, and I’ll tell anybody he beat me in sparring.”
The clip recirculated after Joshua referenced the session during a recent face-off, bringing the long-running story back into focus.
The version of Anthony Joshua from the ABA days was a physical specimen with a “seek and destroy” mentality. He had not yet developed the more cautious, technical approach we saw later in his career.
At 21, Fury was still finding his man power. His shots were often flickering and aimed to create hesitation rather than damage. For a young, hungry Joshua, those slaps were just an invitation to close the distance.
