Fury Admits To Taking A "Beating" From Joshua

An old interview featuring a 21-year-old Tyson Fury has resurfaced, showing him talking up then-amateur Anthony Joshua following a sparring session.

The video has re-emerged just days after the two traded heated words ringside at Fury’s comeback victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov, as the pair could face off next. In the footage, Fury recounts a trip to the Finchley ABC gym in London, where he stepped into the ring with a 20-year-old Joshua, who was still two years away from his Olympic gold medal. Fury admits that Joshua punished him for 3 rounds.

Fury On Sparring

Facebook: Boxing: Only Full Fights

"I sparred with the ABA champion [Anthony Joshua]. He’s red hot, him. He’s very good. To be honest, I thought to myself I’ve only got to take it easy because he’s only an amateur and he won’t spar again if I go mad. He rushed out at me, he threw a one-two, I’m trying to slip and slide and take my time, 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.

"He’s very good, though, and he’s very young – 20. Watch out for that name: Anthony Joshua. He is one [top] prospect for the future. I class myself as one of the top prospects, one of the best heavyweights in the world, and he came at me for three rounds and gave me a beating. I’m not going to deny it; he gave me what for, hell for leather for three rounds. I thought, oh my God, an amateur is killing me.

"I thought I could slow him down with a few good body shots, and I’m a handful myself. So, for him to put up a performance like that against me, I think he’s one for the future. But sparring isn’t fighting, and fighting with a headguard on is not professional boxing. 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," Fury said

The Reality

Instagram: fttvboxing

By praising Joshua so early, Fury set a narrative that Joshua is a "powerhouse" or a "bodybuilder," which subtly pigeonholes AJ as a one-dimensional fighter. Over time, Fury’s "rightness" about Joshua’s power has been used as a weapon to suggest that Joshua lacks the boxing IQ or the "slickness" that Fury himself possesses.

If Fury was implying that Joshua’s raw aggression would make him invincible, history proved him wrong. His professional losses to Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk showed that high-volume pressure and elite movement can neutralize that very power Fury praised. Fury’s admission of being "punished" might have been true for a three-round amateur-style sprint, but it didn’t account for Joshua’s later struggles with stamina and mental composure in championship-level, 12-round chess matches.

Comments

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.