Joshua denies Dubois nearly knocked him out sparring

Two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has refuted claims that his opponent in the September 21 title fight at Wembley Stadium, Daniel Dubois, almost knocked him out during a sparring session in 2016.

The infamous sparring session between Joshua and a then 18-year-old Dubois has been a subject of speculation for years, with rumours suggesting that the younger boxer had seriously hurt Joshua.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Joshua addressed the incident, saying, “He just cracked me with a good shot. I stood on my feet. I don’t know where this whole narrative of someone turning my lights off came from.”

The 33-year-old boxer added, “There were a lot of people in the gym that day as well. And people have come out and said, ‘Nah, nothing happened.’ But anyway, people say what they say.”

This statement contradicts former professional boxer Anthony Fowler’s account of the sparring session. Fowler claimed to have witnessed the incident, stating that Joshua’s “legs were like jelly” after a hard punch from Dubois.

According to Fowler, Joshua wanted to continue sparring, but his trainer, Rob McCracken, intervened, saying, “Have a little break, get your legs back to normal, and then spar.”As the September 21 showdown approaches, both fighters are riding waves of success.

Dubois, 26, has bounced back from a disappointing performance against Oleksandr Usyk with consecutive stoppage victories over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.

The younger boxer is determined to dethrone Joshua, stating, “AJ’s been the king for a long time, and on the night, I need to become a king slayer. That’s my goal; that’s the mission at hand.”Joshua, however, remains confident in his abilities.

Coming off four straight wins, including a knockout victory over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, he asserted, “I won’t let anyone manhandle me or try to knock me out. No way.”

While some in the boxing community have backed Joshua to emerge victorious, including former world champions Liam Smith and Josh Warrington, others are placing their faith in Dubois.

Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang, who has had an impressive run of his own, believes Dubois has what it takes to shock the world. “I personally favour Daniel Dubois to pull this off because he’s on a surge. He’s young, he’s hungry, he has the fire in him,” Zhang said.

The upcoming bout at Wembley Stadium promises to settle the longstanding debate surrounding their sparring session and determine the future of British heavyweight boxing.