Rumours Anthony Joshua recently dropped hard and hurt in sparring by Lawrence Okolie?

It's sparring - so gotta take it with a grain of salt. BUT, it's consistent with what AJ has shown thus far. Not the first time he'd been pumped in sparring, and being captain obvious - he got checked by a horrendously slow Whyte (who the fvck can't telegraph a shot from him?).

Sparring is different from a real fight for sure! In a real fight people don't hold back and will hit much harder. It,s a matter of time, somebody will check that chin soon!

The only issue is Josh's aura made be harmed. Not sure he had aura of invincibility but being decked in sparring can harm your reputation.

Just sparring but AJ needs this kind of stuff so he'll be ready when it does happen in a real fight! I did like his reaction to being hurt by Whyte, he fought back and kept him off of him! Thing is, he won't be able to fight off being hurt against guys like Wilder or Ortiz so hopefully their teaching him to clinch when in trouble!

Sparring is practice. Not a measure of ability. The only relevant thing about this is that it would have been recent and could have a psychological impact, depending where Anthony's head is at. Getting dropped in sparring doesn't mean he's any less talented a fighter though.

Price is a good fighter he just can't take a punch, he was beating Thompson both times before getting caught He's a domestic level fighter. He won't make it anywhere past that

I read this today aswell, someone on facebook who claimed to know the GB lads posted it.

I dunno about the sparring rumours but it's not true that Pirce was ever taken as serious opponent. AJ wanted the Klit fight this year if it didn't come through, he was always looking to fight a lesser opponent so as not to risk anything for next year. ehh, Molina's team would have said the same thing if AJ fought Price and not him. Molina is ranked higher.

That dude also has enough power to put AJ and any other HW to sleep. As others have posted, it's a no win fight for AJ as Price has no real credibility with the general public. If AJ lost to him it would be far worse than Price losing to Thompson. And Molina doesn't? This is heavyweight boxing. You can get knocked out by anyone.

Dont be deluded and listen to hype this is what sells a fight. Not in 10 Millon years is Joshua losing to a taco fat bellied Mexcian none of them can fight at heayweight as too fat He lost to pot smoking heavyweight Chris Arreola, even the fat guy with fast hands would beat Molina Andy Ruiz Beans and rice >>> Steroids...

lol, if a sparring partner did this to Joshua, Molina is going to wipe the floor with this guy. I dont see it going passed 4. Dont be deluded and listen to hype this is what sells a fight. Not in 10 Millon years is Joshua losing to a taco fat bellied Mexcian none of them can fight at heayweight as too fat He lost to pot smoking heavyweight Chris Arreola, even the fat guy with fast hands would beat Molina Andy Ruiz

I'm just wondering when an interviewer will have the balls to ask him about the Price sparring story now that Price actually confirmed it. Always wanted to see what he would say about it. He'd probably say something about staying humble and spout a cliche.

I wouldn't normally post rumours, especially about sparring sessions, but I saw this on a FB boxing page earlier and the guy seemed to know plenty of details and claimed to have heard it from two different sources. (A journalist and someone around the GB camp). Apparently Joshua was recently dropped hard by Team GB's Lawrence Okolie, was hurt and took a while to recover. It was witnessed by Rob McCracken and some of the other GB boxers. The session was shut down and Joshua went home for the day. This was when the Klitschko fight was falling through and Hearn was looking for another opponent - Sky wanted David Price in an all-British December fight, but after watching AJ get dropped McCracken told Hearn not to put him in with Price as his confidence had taken a hit and Price was far too risky a fight, so Hearn then went and made an offer to Molina and here we are. Sound legit? I dunno about the sparring rumours but it's not true that Pirce was ever taken as serious opponent. AJ wanted the Klit fight this year if it didn't come through, he was always looking to fight a lesser opponent so as not to risk anything for next year.

lol, if a sparring partner did this to Joshua, Molina is going to wipe the floor with this guy. I dont see it going passed 4. The sparring partner is a highly regarded Team GB amateur. They are amateurs in name but they are full time and get paid a significant wage from national lottery funding to stay amateur. It is fairly likely that this guy will go on to have a decent career - he is not just some guy. He will be good. That and it's heavyweights. They all get knocked out. Well, mostly.

lol, if a sparring partner did this to Joshua, Molina is going to wipe the floor with this guy. I dont see it going passed 4.

As do a lot of heavyweights. While AJ still has a lot to prove he wouldn't lose to a fighter like Price, he just isn't good enough. Price is a good fighter he just can't take a punch, he was beating Thompson both times before getting caught

That dude also has enough power to put AJ and any other HW to sleep. As others have posted, it's a no win fight for AJ as Price has no real credibility with the general public. If AJ lost to him it would be far worse than Price losing to Thompson. As do a lot of heavyweights. While AJ still has a lot to prove he wouldn't lose to a fighter like Price, he just isn't good enough.

Better to learn and get KO'd in sparring then in a fight to be honest. It's sparring it might happen anytime, lose a bit of concentration and you're down or trying to breath from a body shot.

:lol1: @ Price too risky of a fight. That dude got iced by Tony Thompson twice That dude also has enough power to put AJ and any other HW to sleep. As others have posted, it's a no win fight for AJ as Price has no real credibility with the general public. If AJ lost to him it would be far worse than Price losing to Thompson.

:lol1: @ Price too risky of a fight. That dude got iced by Tony Thompson twice yeah that fight won't get made (unless price miraculously beats someone like ortiz) simply because it'd just be another haye-harrison and result in a huge public backlash. molina is at least a blank slate in the UK so matchroom and sky can bill him as anything they want re. the rumour, it sounds plausible. i like okolie a lot, he has great instincts and is a fast learner. he got unlucky with his draw in the olympics. joshua fans should be worried if the titbit about him "taking a while to recover" is true, because it would confirm that his bad reaction to getting clipped by whyte wasn't merely a one-off