Anthony Joshua immediately halts Tyson Fury press conference and shows true colours

18:41, 30 Sep 2026Updated 19:44, 30 Sep 2026

Anthony Joshua paused the press conference for his fight with Tyson Fury soon after it started to hold a minute's silence.

Fury spoke first about their infamous sparring session a decade ago. Joshua briefly engaged with the subject, claiming he had given him a black eye.

However, before sharing his side of the story, he wanted to take a moment to remember those who are no longer alive to be present for this much-anticipated event. Joshua was injured in a car crash last December that killed his personal trainer, Latif "Latz" Ayodele, and his strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami.

Joshua said: "Before I start, I'd just like to, if we can give some respect to some of our fallen soldiers for one minute, please." Joshua named several people, including Ayodele, Ghami, and Ricky Hatton.

He then counted from one to three, and the venue fell silent for a period. Joshua ended the moment by saying: "Look, for anyone who's lost anyone, we hold them in high regard and we put them in our prayers. Thank you very much for your participation.

A round of applause then followed. Fury participated enthusiastically alongside the others at British Airways ARC in London.

Joshua was happy to talk boxing immediately afterwards, saying: "I don't remember it, it was so many years ago. He spoke about it, it wasn't me.

"For me, it was just another day. He was the one who went and spoke about the experience. Sparring is sparring. The most important thing is the fight that's going to happen in December.

Fury agreed: "I have trouble remembering last week, let alone remembering what happened 16 years ago in a sparring match. What I do recall, though, is AJ getting whacked around the body and putting his knees up in the corner."

Speaking about the fight, Joshua said: It's breathtaking. I'm really grateful for the opportunity from His Excellency (Turki Al-Sheikh) and his team, and to Frank (Warren) and Eddie (Hearn) for bringing the fight to Great Britain.

"I know in pubs people have had fights over who is going to win between Tyson and me. I know for a fact we're going to inspire the next generation.

He added: "I'm willing to take and take punch after punch and keep moving forward until my hand's raised. I know every fighter has got his challenges."

Fury concluded: "There's been some brilliant fights in this country, in the biggest division, the heavyweights. This is the biggest of today; we can only be the biggest of our time. Me and AJ are going to throwdown and it's an unbelievable event.

"It's been an unbelievable journey, both of us from the same country going out there and dominating. Now, towards the end of it all, we get to fight each other on the biggest stage. There isn't a fight out there that is going to come close."

The Principality Stadium in Cardiff will host this fight between Fury and Joshua on Friday, December 11. The headline bout is due to begin in the early hours of Saturday morning, but timings have yet to be confirmed.