Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will settle a rivalry that has run for more than a decade when they meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11. But this will not be the first time the British heavyweights have stood across from one another in a ring.
They sparred in 2010 at Finchley Amateur Boxing Club in north London, where Joshua was training as an amateur. Fury was 21 and already a professional, while Joshua was 20, still early in his boxing career and two years away from winning Olympic gold at London 2012. Only a small group saw the session, but the three rounds have become a fixture in the story of their eventual fight.
When Tyson Fury And Anthony Joshua First Shared A Ring
Fury travelled down from Manchester and joined Joshua at Finchley, where the younger fighter had won the ABA heavyweight title. On a BBC Radio interview soon afterwards, Fury gave Joshua credit in a way that has followed both men ever since.
“I sparred with the ABA champion, Anthony Joshua. He’s red hot, him. Very good,” Fury said. “I thought, ‘I’ll only take it easy because he’s only an amateur and he probably won’t spar me again if I go mad.’ He rushed out at me, he threw a one-two and left hook and bash, he hit me with an uppercut right on the point of the chin.” Fury added that the punch could have knocked him out “for a month” if he had a weak chin.
He went further still when describing the rest of the exchange: “I’m a good prospect. I rate myself as one of the top heavyweights in the world and he came at me for three rounds and he gave me a beating.”
Joshua’s former amateur coach, Sean Murphy, has offered a similarly lively account. Murphy said Joshua caught Fury early with an uppercut and left hook, leaving the future WBC heavyweight champion on unsteady legs. Fury used the ropes for support, according to Murphy, who told him he could not do that during the spar.
Murphy said Fury settled in during the second round, using his height and experience to make Joshua work. Joshua responded well in the third, with Murphy saying the amateur boxer had the better of it. When Fury asked for another round, Murphy declined and took Joshua out of the session.
“Tyson Fury was adamant, begging for one more round,” Murphy recalled. “I told Josh to get out; he’d done three rounds. I knew he was about to turn it up, and I wasn’t going to risk sending an amateur in against a professional without ensuring he gained something from it.”
That ending has left plenty of room for different versions. Fury has more recently said Joshua was pulled out after three rounds because he was ready to raise the pace. Joshua has not claimed a knockout, describing the session as a competitive sparring exchange where both men landed heavy shots. There is no full public footage or official scoring, so the details remain a story told through the people who were there.
Hearn Says Joshua Has Waited
Eddie Hearn says the memory has stayed with Joshua. The Matchroom promoter believes Fury is walking into a different version of his fighter in Cardiff, with Joshua carrying a personal desire to turn that old gym session into a professional result.
“I think that AJ is always going to be AJ,” Hearn said. “He’s going to put 120% into training camp. He’s going to come in in great shape. But I’ve never known AJ want to knock someone out so badly.” Hearn compared Joshua’s mood to his second fight with Dillian Whyte, which Joshua won by seventh-round knockout in 2023.
“I can’t remember the last time, maybe Dillian Whyte, where he went into a fight where it was like, ‘I just want to iron this guy out,’” Hearn said. “He always wants to win by knockout, but not with the same intention that he has going into this fight.” Hearn then returned to the Finchley spar.
“He’s envisaged this moment. He’s seen this moment for over 10 years, probably longer. The first time they laced up the gloves and AJ battered Fury in sparring, he’s been waiting to get this moment for real.”
Hearn acknowledged that Fury presents a difficult test, calling him a great fighter and competitor. Still, he believes Joshua has always had the answer for him. “Both guys are going to go that little bit further in this training camp,” Hearn said. “Both guys are going to want this a little bit more, but we believe we’ve always had his number.” On December 11, the old Finchley debate finally leaves the gym behind.
