As Anthony Joshua prepares to face Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium, in what promises to be a huge occasion, the 34-year-old is being forced to answer rumours, speculation and questions about when he had previously sparred with his 27-year-old opponent.

By all accounts, Dubois is said to have rocked Joshua during their sparring sessions, though it’s worth noting that it’s a subject that both fighters are looking to move away from, although clearly, it adds an added dimension to the bout.

Joshua is on the comeback trail, winning his last four fights since those back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022. Fight fans who want to back this fight with a wager would do well to visit www.cbssports.com/betting/boxing/ to get a closer look at what each provider has to offer by way of odds and offers, thereby potentially boosting their payout.

As for those sparring sessions, there are conflicting narratives in play. For example, Paul Walmsley, former GB coach, stated,

"What I recall is that Joshua got the better of it," 

"He was on the squad longer, he was more mobile, kept Daniel at long range. All the spars seemed to have a similar pattern. Daniel was a bit flat-footed. He seems to be moving a lot more now I've noticed but then he was bit more flat-footed. Joshua could get in and out, get around him pretty easily there."

Dubois has responded to the talk by saying,

 "I don't want to talk about no sparring or none of that. It happened seven years ago, and to be honest, I can't remember that."

And Joshua, who has been quite tight-lipped on the matter, briefly discussed the matter recently,

 "He just cracked me with a good shot. But I stood on my feet.”

"I don't know where this whole narrative that someone turned my lights off came from.”

"People say what they say. And with me, there's always been an inch that makes a mile, but it's all good." Joshua added.

Dubois is the interim heavyweight champion after Usyk vacated the title, and he has a 20-2 record, with those losses coming against Joe Joyce in 2020 and against Usyk in 2023 in Poland.  He defeated Filip Hrgovic in June via a TKO in Saudi Arabia.

As is par for the course, the two fighters almost came to blows in their pre-fight promotion, and it’s a fight that is ideally located. The two Brits doing battle in front of 90,000+ fans at Wembley Stadium is pretty special. 

In many ways, it feels like a fight Joshua can’t afford to lose, not considering the ground he has made up since those Usyk fights, and Dubois has nothing to lose, which makes for a great battle that is very evenly balanced. 

Commenting on how those defeats, Joshua commented,

"I've worked hard and been through a lot of pain, and I've worked hard to get better," 

"Hopefully, those experiences won't happen again because as you saw that night, I don't like losing." Joshua concluded.