According to a former teammate, Anthony Joshua was nearly knocked out during a sparring session with his upcoming opponent, Daniel Dubois. Joshua, who was reportedly “out on his feet,” was spared from a knockout by Dubois, who chose not to finish him off out of respect.
Anthony Fowler, once a GB boxing teammate of Joshua’s, shared the incident as he witnessed it. “Joshua got caught with a short left hook. His legs completely went,” Fowler told talkSPORT. “Dubois could have hit him again and put him to sleep, but Dubois showed too much respect to finish him off. Joshua’s legs were like jelly. He wanted to continue, but Rob McCracken [Joshua’s former coach] stepped in, telling him to take a break and regain his footing. Dubois had the opportunity to knock him out but chose not to because of the respect he had for Joshua.”
However, promoter Eddie Hearn has denied the incident in an interview with IFL TV. “I heard rumors that AJ was carried out of the ring unconscious,” Hearn said. “That story has now changed to ‘he got buzzed by a shot, was out on his feet, but they carried on sparring.’ If you get hurt in sparring, the session usually stops. From what I understand, Joshua got hit by a left hook, took a moment, and then resumed sparring. The only thing I heard initially was that AJ got knocked out cold, but that clearly wasn’t the case.”
Dubois, who is set to defend his IBF heavyweight title for the first time, will face Joshua at Wembley Stadium on September 21. If Joshua manages to defeat Dubois, he could become a three-time heavyweight champion by claiming his second vacated belt.