Tyson Fury has recalled a strange spar he had with Daniel Dubois back in 2017 when ‘The Gypsy King’ was left with only one shoe.

At the time, Fury was retired and out of shape while Dubois was a fresh-faced teenager preparing for his first professional fight.

Instagram – Tyson Fury Fury and Dubois shared the ring together in 2017[/caption]

Two years prior, Fury had famously dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany to become the unified heavyweight champion of the world.

But in the months that followed, he fell into a depressive rut and ballooned up to 27 stone.

At his lowest point, he shared the ring with Dubois and despite the gulf in experience between the pair, Fury was extremely impressed by the youngster.

“I came down to the gym one random Saturday morning, got the bug to have a little spar and Daniel was sparring with Hughie [Fury] at the time and a few other lads in the gym,” Fury told TNT Sports in 2020 before Dubois’ second round knockout victory over Ricardo Snijders.

“I just wanted to have a spar, it’s in me isn’t it, it’s what I do.

“I remember I had no equipment with me, no head guard, no bandages.

“I don’t remember exactly what I was wearing but I remember I had one shoe off and one shoe on, the shoe came off and it was what it was.

“We had a little move around. Big fat 27 stone, I had a move around and it was a pleasure.

“He was only a young man then, I think he had only had one fight then or maybe he hadn’t even had a professional fight.

“But I found he was a very good fighter, straight away.”

Dubois knocked out Joshua on Saturday nightGetty

Mark Robinson/MatchroomFury was in attendance for the fight and watched it unfold from ringside[/caption]

Asked at the time by Steve Bunce whether he anticipates he will box Dubois down the line, Fury replied: “No, he’s a lot younger than me, Dan.

“He’s only 22 now so by the time he gets up there I’ll be in my armchair watching the guys with a big pipe and my carpet slippers on.”

However, four years later both men could be just one fight away from meeting in the ring.

Dubois pulled off a major upset on Saturday night by knocking out Anthony Joshua in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium to retain his IBF heavyweight belt.

Meanwhile, Fury is set to square off against Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch for the other three major world titles (WBA, WBC and WBO) on December 21.

If Fury emerges victorious from his second fight with Usyk then an undisputed clash between him and Dubois could be the next step.

Fury missed out on becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era when he was beaten by Usyk via split decision in May.

One month later, Usyk was forced to give up the IBF title in order to pursue a contracted rematch with Fury, leading to Dubois being elevated from interim to full world champion.