Anthony Joshua has recalled what happened during a secret sparring session with his rival Tyson Fury.
AJ fought the Gypsy King at Finchley Boxing Club in Barnet when he was just 20 years old.
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Fury had been a professional for two years at the time and was so confident in his ability that he put his Rolex watch on the line for a practice session.
Despite his amateur status, Joshua responded and called the heavyweights for a fight.
Remembering that little-known session this life of mine In the podcast, AJ told James Corden: “So this guy named Tyson Fury, who I have no idea who he is, comes into the gym.
“And the word on the street is that Tyson said: ‘If anybody beats me, I’m the best heavyweight. If anybody beats me they’re going to get my Rolex watch.’
“Hey, I was looking at the cash. I’m saying Rolex, yeah. I said, let’s go. Bell goes, we go, we go. I think we fought for about three or four rounds.
“Even Tyson, in fact, did an interview to promote the fight. ‘There’s a guy called Anthony Joshua, I sparred with him at Finchley Boxing Club. Let me tell you, he’s great. I believe he’ll do great things going forward. He hit me with a shot that nearly blew my head off.’ And this and that.”
It is unclear whether AJ took Fury’s Rolex from him.
The two heavyweights are arch rivals now, but at the time, Fury praised Joshua.
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After the fight the Gypsy King said: “He was after me for three rounds and he beat me up really bad. I mean, I’m not going to deny it. For three rounds I was thinking, oh my god, how dangerous is this?
“But the guy is only 20, and he has performed so well against a top player like me, I think he is a player of the future.”
Boxing fans can now look forward to seeing the two British boxers fight for the title instead of Rolex.
In recent years they have come close to negotiating terms for a fight, but that has yet to come to fruition.
As a result, the two have become arch rivals.
AJ concluded: “After this, the compliments stopped because they realised I was after them!
“So I started trying to push him up in the division. And, you know, that fight has never been that close.”
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