ANTHONY JOSHUA was once floored by a 6ft 9in giant in sparring, his former training partner claimed.
AJ returns on Saturday in what is expected to be a British-record 96,000 sellout at Wembley Stadium.
Anthony Joshua during a sparring session
He challenges ex-sparring partner Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight world champion.
It comes years after Dubois was rumoured to have flattened AJ in a now-infamous session at Team GB’s Sheffield HQ.
Joshua has been forced to deny being dropped but conceded he was at least stunned by a left hook.
Anthony Fowler – a 2016 Olympian who trained alongside the both – spoke out to say he was there and saw AJ’s legs turn to jelly.
Fowler – who has since retired – further claimed that Kazakh Ivan Dychko also had Joshua in a world of trouble in sparring.
He told talkSPORT: “I remember Ivan Dychko dropped Joshua. And David Price knocked Joshua down really heavily, he really hurt Joshua.
“That Kazakh lad dropped him once, but it was more of a flash knockdown. And Dubois hurt him as well.
“So I’ve seen him hurt three times but it is heavyweight boxing so it doesn’t matter who you are, if you get hit flush on the chin you could go over.”
Joshua vs Dubois fight predictions
THIS weekend Wembley will witness one of the biggest all-British fights of all-time.
But who will emerge victorious under the famous arch? Some of the biggest names in boxing have been having their say…
Oleksandr Usyk: “My favourite is Anthony Joshua but I am very bad at predictions. But I will predict Anthony Joshua.”
Dillian Whyte: “I just think that it’s one of those fights where it is a genuine 50/50 fight in my opinion.”
Joe Joyce: “I was initially edging with Joshua but I don’t know, Dubois is coming on.”
Frazer Clarke: “As heavy-handed as Dubois is and as good a fighter as he’s becoming, I still have to go for Joshua.”
Francis Ngannou: “Even though Joshua lost against Usyk twice and Dubois fought Usyk and almost knocked him down and almost won, I would still give this to Joshua.”
Click here for more fight predictions for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois
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Joshua admitted to being decked by 6ft 8in Price, 41, but denied ever hitting the canvas with Dubois.
Interestingly, AJ beat Dychko in the semi-finals of the 2012 Olympics on his route to winning a heroic gold in the capital.
Meaning he was supposedly floored by the European just before beating him in the Games.
Fowler, 33, said: “That was in the amateurs, we were all sparring with the Kazakhstanis, and they were all wearing smaller gloves.
“They were all wearing competition gloves, and we were all wearing big gloves.
“I sparred that Serik Sapiyev, and he done me in mate. He had a pair of 10oz gloves on and I had pillows on my hands.
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS DANIEL DUBOIS: All the information you need ahead of huge world title fight at Wembley
“It was sparring before the Olympics. Joshua was loading up and I think he got caught with a one-two and it was a flash knockdown.
“Not many people were there, it was just a spar but I remember it.”
Joshua, 34, awkwardly brought up the sparring session with Dubois, 27, at the press conference.
said: “He cracked me with a great shot and it’s my chance to get him back on Saturday.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it. We sparred hundreds of rounds, innit?”
Dubois said: “It’s sparring. Now we’re fighting, it’s different. Move on now. We can move on now. Move on.”
ReutersDaniel Dubois and Joshua had an awkward press conference exchange[/caption]