Daniel Dubois battered and bullied Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in the most significant moment of his career, upsetting the odds and turning the heavyweight division on its head.
Dubois stepped through the ropes as the new IBF Heavyweight World Champion, looking to legitimise his status and force a changing of the guard on the UK heavyweight scene. For Joshua, it was a chance to become just the sixth three-time champion in the division, joining the likes of Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
Both men looked focused entering the ring in front of the record-breaking 96,000 fans. Dubois took straight to the centre of the ring on the front foot and looked to put ‘AJ’ in trouble straightaway. Joshua clinched and brought the pace down but his work looked notably slower than the younger man’s. Dubois was warned twice in the first about leading with his head but reset and landed a perfect overhand right to score a knockdown. Joshua made it to his feet and was saved by the bell to get out of the opening stanza.
Dubois kept the pressure on to start the second and scored a huge flurry to almost put Joshua down again. The former champion was holding on every chance he got, a torrid start and looking ripe for the picking at any moment. He made it out of round two.
‘DDD’s jab, said to be the best in the business, couldn’t miss, but Joshua found his feet a little more to start the third. More clinching to slow things down and ‘AJ’ scored with his own jab, but Dubois looked dangerous with every shot thrown and he had Joshua down again with a hook. A confusion with Joshua’s gloves touching the canvas saw the referee let the action continue despite a count being administered. He took more shots as a result.
Dubois dropped him again in the first thirty seconds of the fourth, a second touch down was called a slip but it was only a matter of time. Joshua was showing incredible heart, but it became punishing. Again, he survived the fourth.
Incredibly, he managed to land a shot that buckled Dubois’ legs in the fifth but was repaid by the punch of the young man’s life. It was waved off as Joshua – the superstar heavyweight who has done so much for the sport – simply couldn’t make it to his feet. Huge ramifications for the heavyweight division. Heartbreak for Anthony Joshua. Elation for Daniel Dubois.
