A VICIOUS sparring rumour has built towards a bitter fight years in the making between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Dubois turned professional in 2017 with little senior amateur experience but plenty of warranted hype behind him.
ReutersEddie Hearn with Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois[/caption]
Around that same time, rumours began to swirl around boxing circles how a teenage Dubois either floored or knocked out AJ in sparring.
Dubois added fuel to the fire by refusing to deny the claim – while Joshua stayed radio silent on the matter.
But ahead of September 21 – when they share the ring for real – AJ has come out swinging to put the rumours to bed.
So have others that were there that day, after years of even Hearn being duped by the fabricated sparring story.
He told SunSport: “Like any boxing rumours, sparring rumours, they’re always vastly exaggerated.
“If you watch Anthony Fowler on Instagram, who was there for the spar, he actually explained what happened.
“AJ didn’t even get dropped. By all accounts, he got buzzed and they carried on sparring.
“So, I’d be astonished if any heavyweight can go through even one camp of sparring without being buzzed with these guys, 18-19 stone swinging at each other.
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“I remember when I first saw the rumours going from strength to strength of him being like carried out the ring, I was almost reading them at the time going, ‘That’s not true is it?’
“No, not in the slightest. But now you’re hearing from people who were there.
“But I’m sure they both hurt each other in sparring. They’re both huge punchers.”
The London pair almost got the fight started early when they came face-to-face to announce their IBF title showdown.
Dubois, 26, offered to scrap there so Joshua, 34, threatened to launch a chair his way.
Some fans were shocked by the ruthless exchange – but Hearn insisted this is nothing new.
He said: “It’s quite funny because people say, ‘We haven’t seen that from AJ before.’
“If you go back to even as far back as Dominic Breazeale when they did their head to head, which was like ten years ago.
“And Breazeale was like, ‘Well I’m ready now, you want to fight now?’ And it was exactly the same thing.
“Otto Wallin, actually in one of the press conferences and AJ did exactly the same thing. So it’s nothing really different.
“I just think sometimes people expect this clean-cut sort of ambassador to not have a straightener in a studio.
AJ didn’t even get dropped. By all accounts, he got buzzed and they carried on sparring.
Eddie Hearn on Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua in sparring rumours
“But that’s him. He’s got that in him, he’s got that fight in him, he’s got the dog in him and he’s ready to go at any time.
“And, we don’t want him to lose that because that’s the edge that you need in boxing and that’s the edge that he needs in this fight.”
The all-British bout comes with not only local bragging rights but huge heavyweight implications.
Dubois defends the title he inherited as interim champion when Oleksandr Usyk, 37, vacated the belt to rematch Tyson Fury, 36.
Usyk and Fury fight once more on December 21 and victory for Joshua lines him up for the winner.
But defeat for either AJ or Fury will drastically hit their pockets when it comes to negotiating the blockbuster bout.
Hearn admitted: “It’s a fight that they definitely both want but a lot depends on these upcoming fights.
“If AJ was to win on September 21st and Fury was to win December 21s you’ve got the biggest fight in the history of the sport.
“If one was to win, one was to lose, you’ve still got a massive fight. The value of the fight changes depending on what happens on September 21st and December 21st.
“And obviously the value of the fight will be pivotal in making the fight in the fighters’ minds, especially with Tyson Fury.”
PAOleksandr Usyk rematches Tyson Fury on December 21[/caption]