SUBJECT: Anthony Joshua on Sparring with Tyson Fury

James Corden: Was it around this time that you sparred with Tyson Fury? How old were you when you sparred together?

Anthony Joshua: I must have been about 19.

James Corden: Right.

Anthony Joshua: 19. Yeah.

James Corden: Tell me, someone who doesn’t really, I’m a big boxing fan as you know, but I don’t really understand the world of sparring all these things. Are you sparring with him because he’s training for a fight? How does this work and what’s it like and what do you remember about being in that moment? Did you have any feeling that like, “Oh, hang on a minute. Me and this guy, we are going to sail alongside each other for quite a long time in sport.” 

Anthony Joshua: No.

James Corden: Really?

Anthony Joshua: No, because I’d only been boxing a year at this stage, right.

James Corden: Right. 

Anthony Joshua: So Tyson Fury, he’s gone on and done remarkable things. Credit to him and his family, but at that stage in both of our careers, he was a professional, so he’s training for a fight. He may have been fighting _______ and I think he’s looking for sparring. So, his coach might have contacted my coach.

James Corden: And said have you got anyone that can just come do a few rounds with Tyson?

Anthony Joshua: Yeah. So my coach probably like, “Yeah, I got this geezer Josh, fresh down the gym. But he’s all right. He’s a tough one. He can handle himself. So Tyson’s coming down.”

James Corden: How are you feeling at this time? Have you sparred other professionals at this point?

Anthony Joshua: Probably because Sean Murphy, who was my coach at the time, wherever he used to take me, I just used to go. He used to go to South East London. I sparred a lot of people and what have I got to lose? Right. This is all new to me, so I’m just learning the game. You know, so this guy called Tyson Fury, who I have no idea who he is, comes down the gym and word on the streets is that Tyson said, “If anyone knocks me out, I’m the best heavyweight. If anyone knocks me out, they get my Rolex watch.” Hey, I’m looking at the cash. I’m saying “Rolex.”  I said, “All right, let’s go.” Like I don’t care who this guy is. So, Sean told me that before we sparred, he goes, “Listen, if you can knock this guy out, apparently he’s saying, if anyone can knock me out, you get a Rolex watch.” I said, “Let’s go.” Bell goes, you know, we go at it. We go at it. I think we sparred about three, four rounds. Even Tyson actually, he’d done an interview promoting the fight, “There’s this kid called Anthony Joshua. I sparred him down at Finchley Boxing Club. I tell you what he’s shit hot. And I believe he’s gonna go on and do great things. He hit me with a shot that nearly took my head off and this and that.” Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tyson Fury audio playing:

He came out at me for three rounds and he gave me a beating. I mean, I’m not gonna deny it. He give me what for hell ever for three rounds. I thought, “Oh my God, the amateur is killing me.” But the kid’s only 20. For him to put up a good performance like that against a top prospect like me. I think he’s one for the future.

Anthony Joshua: After that, the parade stopped ’cause he realized I was on his coats. Yeah, so I started chasing him up the division and you know, that fight is one that is, has never been so close.

James Corden: You and I have spoken privately, personally about this being the fight. I think it’s an extraordinary thing that Britain has these two extraordinary heavyweights. How does this work? What is the deal with boxing and promoters and money and splits and purses and all these things ‘cause I felt as someone on the outside looking in, and correct me if I’m wrong, I felt, “Oh no, I think AJ’s happy for this to run for a while and let this run for a few years before that fight comes.” Would that be fair?

Anthony Joshua: No, not on my part. 

James Corden: Really? 

Anthony Joshua: I would rather get this fight done sooner because injury, if anyone gets beat along the way ’cause you’re fighting good fighters. As you said, this is the best of Britain and it’s a great time where it’s not Great Britain versus America versus this part of the world. This is just two guys from local boxing gyms that can bring boxing up to a level that it’s not been in for a long time.

James Corden: I mean, it’s a tantalizing prospect for any boxing fan. I’m certain it’ll happen. I think it would be, I can say this just as a fan, and you don’t have to commit to this in any way ’cause I realize it’s very difficult for you to say, I think it would be an outrage if that fight happened anywhere other than in the United Kingdom. If that fight happened in Saudi Arabia, I think it would be a disgrace and I’m gonna say that, and I’ll fight both of you if it does.

SUBJECT: Anthony Joshua on the Unique Way He Found Boxing

Anthony Joshua: I spent some time on bail, so while I was being investigated, they put me in a youth offenders system, then I went to jail for a bit. I got let out on bail. I had to put myself on a tag.

James Corden: So, you have to wear an electronic tag around your ankle, which basically means you have to be monitored and back home by a certain time every night. Right? Is that right?

Anthony Joshua: Yes. How did you know so much about it?

James Corden: I’ve got some family.

Anthony Joshua: Yeah, same thing, and then at that period in my life, you know what was really good about that period is when you are down on your luck, the only way is up. You know? So, I had time to actually think for myself, so when I was now on tag, I spent a lot of time by myself, right? I was at home by seven o’clock every night. I was in more of a routine, waking up earlier and I started going to college. I realized that I wanted to get stronger. I wanted to get into that fitness industry ’cause when I got off tag, I thought I wanted to be bigger, stronger, more dominant, physically, so then my cousin Bangor, who was boxing at the time was like, “Come down the boxing gym,” and I was thinking I couldn’t fight. What do I need to go to a boxing gym for? Found myself at a boxing gym and realized I couldn’t fight in the Queensbury rules. You know, I could street fight. I couldn’t really fight the way a professional boxer would, so I fell in love with learning this trade that they call boxing.

James Corden: And this all happened at Finchley Boxing Club.

Anthony Joshua: Now this happened at Finchley Boxing Club where I found myself.