Anthony Joshua claims to have sparred against Tyson Fury for Rolex watch in 2010
In 2010, when future heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was just 20 and was still an amateur, he sparred with Tyson Fury at the Finchley Amateur Boxing Club.
Heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed to a lucrative two-fight deal, with the first bout rumoured to take place in summer 2020 and is expected to make a whopping $200 million, which will be split 50-50 between the two parties. The all British showdown between the two behemoths has been inevitable for quite some time now and even though a date and venue is yet to be set, the contracts of the bouts have officially been signed on Monday, as per Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn.
This is not the first time Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are dealing with each other, considering they have locked horns in the past. In 2010, when AJ was just 20 and was still an amateur, he sparred with Tyson Fury at the Finchley Amateur Boxing Club. Tyson Fury, who was a developing pro, thought of going easy on the amateur, but after getting rocked by some lefts and rights, he got serious.
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: The 2010 clash
Tyson Fury later told BBC that if he would have had a weak chin like “David Price, I’d have been knocked out for a month”. Though both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury didn’t reveal who won the sparring competition, they knew that they were destined to fight in the future. “He’s very, very good and he’s only young, 20, watch out for that name – Anthony Joshua – he is one prospect for the future,'” Fury remembers saying to his teammates.
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: AJ on sparring with Fury
Anthony Joshua later told the London Evening Standard that he was extra-motivated before the sparring session as the two future opponents had made a bet for Fury’s Rolex watch. Fury, who noticed AJ eyeing his Rolex, told the young prospect that he would give him his watch if he knocks him down in the session. And while Joshua was unable to knock him down, Fury received some hard punches to the head.
Later, Anthony Joshua vowed that he’ll do want he was unable to do eleven years ago, which is to knock the Gypsy King out. "There was a Rolex [on offer then] but now there is an even bigger pot of gold at the end of this rainbow and I want to take his head off his shoulders when that fight happens. I'm sure that I'll win," AJ added.
Image Source: AP
Published By : Adil Khan
Published On: 17 March 2021 at 17:51 IST