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Daniel Dubois Delivers Shocking Beatdown Of Anthony Joshua
In front of a sold-out crowd of 96,000 fans, including boxing royalty and British celebrities, fortunes changed for two of the world's top heavyweight talents in a shocking outcome between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua.
Daniel Dubois caught Anthony Joshua with a hard right in round one, and Joshua never truly recovered. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Dubois of London (22-2, 21 KOs) and Joshua of Watford (28-4, 25 KOs) delivered a Hagler vs. Hearns style barnburner of a fight, coming to a devastating ending for Joshua after Dubois scored four knockdowns en route to a fifth-round knockout victory. Dubois retains the IBF World Heavyweight title he won against Filip Hrgovic as a vacant interim title in June.
Daniel Dubois scores the first of four knockdowns against Anthony Joshua. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing.
“I'm glad I done the business. I'm glad I proved everyone wrong,” said Dubois after the fight. “I'm glad I done the business. I'm glad I proved everyone wrong.
“They were all doubting me. The Lord had my back tonight. I wasn't going to be denied. He could have thrown everything at me. I was going to come through it,” said Dubois, calling the whole experience a dream. “I knew it was my night tonight.”
“Most people had written him off,” said promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions. “I said at the time, whoever goes on the back foot in this fight is going to get beat. He did that and stamped his authority on the fight from the first round.
Daniel Dubois: ‘I Wasn't Going To Be Denied'
Daniel Dubois was on the front foot from the opening bell. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing.
Dubois initiated the action at the opening bell, on the front foot and getting down to business. He showed no nerves as if he was the fighter returning to a familiar setting rather than Joshua.
Dubois took control immediately, closing the gap and landing a thunderous right hand to the side of Joshua's head at the end of the first round. It was shocking, and it created so much chaos and noise neither fighter nor referee Marcus McDonnell could hear the bell at the end of the round.
Joshua didn't quite have his wits about him to start round two, and never truly recovered. The former world champion seemed shocked and overwhelmed. He could only manage to hold and hold off Dubois. Confidence and purpose oozed from Dubois. He was on a mission.
Dubois's jab could not miss, and he kept up the assault whenever Joshua held, battering his body until the referee pulled them apart. Joshua had a freight train coming at him.
Record-Breaking Crowd Witnesses An Upset
Daniel Dubois let his hands go throughout the fight, pushing Anthony Joshua back and neutralizing any return fire. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing.
The crowd grew quiet, holding its collective breath at the upset in progress. Dubois rocked Joshua, and as he fell back into the ropes, Dubois kept up the ruthless punishment. Joshua's glove had touched the canvas, but it was missed. Joshua fell as the bell rang to end the third, and referee McDonnell administered the count for the second knockdown.
It only got worse. Joshua was down again in the fourth round, seemingly a beaten man on his feet. Dubois swarmed Joshua, and initially, when McDowell stepped in, it seemed it was the end of the fight. But he signaled a slip, not the finish.
But the end was inevitable.
Dubois kept coming, fueled by his world-class conditioning. Joshua tried to hold, but Dubois wouldn't allow it. The former champion's only hope was landing his right hand.
Fifth Round Finish for Dubois
Daniel Dubois stands in the neutral corner as Anthony Joshua is counted out. Photo: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
Daniel Dubois knocks out Anthony Joshua to win the contest.
Joshua managed to rally himself, and for a brief second in the fifth round, the possibility of a Klitschko-style miracle looked possible and gave his fans some hope. Joshua landed two solid right hooks to Dubois. But without Joshua's legs underneath him, the punches didn't contain enough force to seriously damage Dubois.
Dubois fired back with two right hooks of his own, and Joshua was down. He rolled on the canvas and tried to rise as McDonnell counted toward ten. He waved off the right as Joshua's corner fired a towel into the ring. But the fight was over for an official knockout win.
Joshua candidly assessed his loss. “I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent, and secondly, a lot of mistakes from my end. But that's the game. As pissed off as I am, it is what it is,” adding that he rolled the dice but came up short. “Congratulations on a good performance. That was a firefight.”
Daniel Dubois knocks out Anthony Joshua to win the contest as referee Marcus McDowell calls it off and Joshua’s team throws in the towel. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Trainer Ben Davison said Joshua simply made too many mistakes and was behind from the start. “He went out on his shield. That's all we can ask for.”
Joshua said he has no intention of retiring. Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said Joshua has another Riyadh Season fight in contract, but no decisions would be made until the outcome of the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in December. “You got the Dubois rematch. You got other fights out there. But it's really about returning to the gym, having time off, and seeing how he comes back with Ben.”
Dubois: ‘The Good Lord Was With Me'
Daniel Dubois and his team celebrate his victory, with his younger brother holding the IBF Heavyweight Title belt. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing.
Dubois reflected on the win an hour later in the post-fight news conference. “Tonight, I became Daniel in the lion's den. I had to come through that. I was unstoppable tonight. I was on a roll. The Good Lord was with me, and I got through it,” concluded Dubois.
“No one's done that to AJ like that, have they? Nobody! This man's got phenomenal power. He's got a good chin himself … He took him. He gritted his teeth and did it with a counter,” said Warren, who credited Dubois' team, including trainer Ben Charles, for the win.
Whatever comes next for Dubois, there are multiple fights teed up for him while he awaits the fate of the three remaining titles currently in the hands of unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk and Tyson Fury are scheduled for a rematch in December.
Potential opponents for Dubois include Zhilei Zhang, Agit Kabayel, and Martin Bokole. At age 27, Dubois has time to pursue multiple possibilities. Kabayal is 31, Bokole 32, and Zhang is at the opposite end at 41. Usyk is 37, Fury is 36, and Joshua is 34.
As the only top-tier heavyweight under age 30, Dubois injects new life and energy into the division, ensuring its health in the coming years. As the health of the heavyweight division indicates the health of boxing in general, fans worldwide can take heart – even if you lost some money Saturday.
