ANTHONY JOSHUA has seemingly struck up the unlikeliest of bromances with John Fury – the dad of his Brit rival Tyson.
It seemed unfathomable that the pair would get on a few years ago given John and Tyson’s past public criticisms of the former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
John, however, has had a change of tune in recent years – publicly championing AJ and his bid to rise back to the summit of the heavyweight division.
So their super-friendly interaction in Saudi Arabia ahead of Joshua’s showdown with Francis Ngannou on Friday night came as no surprise.
The pair ran into each other at the fighter hotel and embraced before having a brief chit-chat, in which John was blown away by the size of the Watford warrior.
After shaking hands, John – whose son Roman features on the undercard – told the assembled crowd: “He’s probably the finest man in boxing isn’t he?”
And as AJ started shadowboxing, he said: “Get up there my boy.”
After hearing John admit he was thrilled to finally meet him and seconds before another handshake, Joshua responded: “A pleasure to meet you as well, sir.”
Joshua bumped into John a few moments later and revealed he’d love to have a sit down with his rival’s old man.
The pair then admitted they’ve always “liked” one another before John claimed he could see AJ becoming a three-time world champion.
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While the interaction between AJ and John was heartwarming to most boxing fans, it could very well have riled up WBC heavyweight king Tyson.
Tyson revealed in December 2022 that he was far from pleased with his dad being pally with his potential future opponent.
He told iFL TV: “He keeps blowing my dad off like, ‘Oh, I think John Fury‘s a legend, he’s a top bloke.’
“Whatever you’ve got going on with him, I don’t like it, sever ties with the old p. Man’s a p***y, s***house.
“All of a sudden he’s my dad’s best friend, ‘Oh, I want to go out for a drink with John Fury.
“I was like what the f***! Why doesn’t he want to go for a drink with me?
“Because I would punch him in the mouth.”
But John refused to bow down to The Gypsy King’s demands, saying: “I’d be privileged to go out for a drink with AJ.
“I’m my own man, I say what I want to say. This is a sport, we’re in a boxing game, AJ is a nice kid.”
John was full of nothing but praise for AJ after their Riyadh rendezvous, saying: “I’ve always liked Anthony Joshua.
“I’ve never said anything wrong about him. He is a great fighter, [an] Olympic gold medallist.
“He’s done a lot for boxing, let’s not forget that.
“And he’s a good fighter, and he will be a world champion again.
“But I couldn’t get over how big he was, the man is a unit.
“He’s always been a nice guy, respectful man. He showed me respect.
“He was lovely. And it was heartfelt. I’ve got nothing but admiration and respect for Anthony Joshua.
“It was a great moment for me.”
John foresees AJ winning his lucrative desert dust-up with Ngannou, so long as he doesn’t get embroiled in a brawl with the former UFC champ.
He told Sky Sports: “If he mixes it with a big puncher, Ngannou’s a unit, he’s had Tyson on the floor.
“Tyson said he can really bang, probably the hardest he’s been in with including Deontay Wilder.
“He’s got to be careful, but AJ has got the skillset, he’s got the powerhimself.
“And who knows, he has this effect on fighters, doesn’t he?
“They just melt in front of him… don’t rule [out] and AJ knockout either.
“But it’s gonna be AJ on points I think.”
