JOHN FURY has revealed what stunned him about Anthony Joshua after the pair met for the first time.
Both men are now in Saudi Arabia ahead of AJ’s crossover boxing fight against UFC star Francis Ngannou on Saturday.
The ring icons shook hands as they linked up on Sunday, which was their first-ever public meeting.
Fury and AJ were all smiles as they talked before sharing a warm embrace.
And the encounter took fans by surprise, with Fury the father of fellow heavyweight Tyson – who has long been at odds with Joshua.
The pair were tipped to finally fight each other in all-British clash in December.
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And after that battle fell through, there are still hopes that a new date can be agreed.
But Fury Snr himself has no issues with AJ, having previously beefed with several of Tyson’s enemies – as well as opponents of fellow kid Tommy.
The original Gypsy King was full of praise for Joshua after meeting him.
And he was stunned to be shown so much respect by one of his son’s rivals.
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Fury said: “I’ve always liked Anthony Joshua. I’ve never said anything wrong about him.
“He is a great fighter, Olympic gold medallist. He’s done a lot for boxing, let’s not forget that.
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS FRANCIS NGANNOU: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE CROSSOVER BOUT
“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.”
Fury was speaking on the red carpet for a pre-event ahead of Friday’s huge fight between AJ and Ngannou.
Both boxers were also present for the ‘Grand Arrivals’ showcase in Riyadh on Monday night.
And a host of other fighters also arrived ahead of the stacked undercard, which features Fury’s son Roman.
Zhilei Zhang was all smiles as he prepared to fight for the WBO “interim” heavyweight belt.
His opponent Joseph Parker also looked confident on the red carpet.
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Rey Vargas posed with the WBC Featherweight world title ahead of his clash with Nick Ball.
And other fighters including Louise Greene, Justis Huni and Gavin Gwynne were present too, as well as promoter Eddie Hearn.
Joshua vs Ngannou undercard
All the fights leading up to the big one on Friday…
- Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker (WBO ‘Interim’ Heavyweight Belt)
- Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball (WBC Featherweight World Title)
- Israil Madrimov vs Magomed Kurbanov (WBA Super-Welterweight World Title)
- Mark Chamberlain vs Gavin Gwynne (Lightweight)
- Justis Huni vs Kevin Lerena (Heavyweight)
- Jack McGann vs Louis Greene (Super-Welterweight)
- Ziyad Almaayouf vs Christian Lopez Flores (Super-Lightweight)
- Roman Fury vs Martin Svarc (Cruiserweight)
- Andrii Novytskyi vs Juan Torres (Heavyweight)
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
