Tyson Fury’s sparring partners for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22 have been revealed. And none is named Anthony Joshua.
Joshua, who holds three of the four major heavyweight titles, offered to spar with Fury ahead of the Wilder fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – and Fury accepted – but it appears that unusual arrangement won’t become reality.
Fury will spar with newbies George Fox (3-0, 0 KOs), David Adeleye (1-0, 1 KO) and Jared Anderson (2-0, 2 KOs), according to talkSPORT. Adeleye and Anderson are both listed at 6-foot-4 on Boxrec.com, three inches shorter than Wilder. Fox’s height wasn’t listed but he appears to be as tall at the 6-9 Fury in a photo.
Joshua reiterated that the offer to spar with his British rival was genuine … sort of.
🤼♂️ Tyson Fury sparring to prepare for the Deontay Wilder rematch with…
🇬🇧 George Fox, age 27 (3-0, 0 KOs)
🇬🇧 David Adeleye, age 22 (1-0, 1 KO)
🇺🇸 Jared Anderson, age 20 (2-0, 2 KOs) pic.twitter.com/c3Vb8NPe97— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 9, 2020
“You know when I look back at some of the s— I say, I think, ‘Why did I say that?’” Joshua told talkSPORT. “So now we’re going to talk about it and give more publicized things to talk about. Fury is a world-class fighter and I’m a world-class fighter that is still trying to improve so I can become like an elite-level fighter.
“Sparring Fury is only going to do me good, in my opinion. So I’m never too big for my boots where I can’t learn anymore. So that opportunity, for me to spar Fury, is for my own benefit as well.”
Joshua also reiterated that he hopes Fury beats Wilder to set up an all-U.K. title fight, which was another reason to help him in camp.
Said Joshua: “And the reason why I thought about it and the reason why it came to fruition for me is because I feel like, if Fury was to win that fight [against Wilder], I think he would be more inclined to fight me next and quicker than Wilder would.”
Of course, as talkSPORT pointed out, Joshua could still show up unannounced at the gym.