This was the scene of his finest hour, a packed Wembley Stadium.
And, on Saturday night, it was that scene that was the scene of their final curtain-call.
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When Anthony Joshua defeated the great Wladimir Klitschko in an epic clash in 2017, the Watford man seemed destined for all-time greatness.
Yet, after a ruthless demolition by fellow Briton Daniel Dubois, Joshua is now surely finished as an elite heavyweight, having never scaled the heights of true greatness.
He’s been a great fighter, and his business model has been great too. And now he should retire as an extremely rich man.
Joshua made mass stadium fights normal in Britain and then, not satisfied with the money he earned from four consecutive wins in front of packed crowds at Wembley and Cardiff, he became the first top boxer to get into bed with Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday night we saw two boxers from either side of London compete for the IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley, after the Saudi Arabian national anthem was played, as part of an event dubbed ‘Riyadh Season’.
The takeover of elite boxing by that oppressive human rights-abusing Middle Eastern government was complete – and it began with Joshua agreeing to fight Andy Ruiz Jr in Riyadh in 2019 to avenge his first professional defeat and become world champion for a second time.
But since that thrilling win over Klitschko – one of the Ukrainian brothers who ruled the heavyweight division for a decade, but the man who had already been dethroned by Tyson Fury – we have been waiting for Joshua to fight the Gypsy King in what would have been the biggest fight in British history.
Saudi money would have smashed promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren’s heads and allowed AJ-Fury to happen.
‘Are you not entertained? I’m a gladiator’ – What Dubois and Joshua said after brutal fight
Daniel Dubois has shattered Anthony Joshua’s dreams of becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion, writes Wally Downes Jr.
Joshua was stunned Four Dubois retained his IBF belt by scoring a stunning fifth-round knockout in front of a record 96,000 Wembley crowd and millions of TV viewers.
AJ, 34, never recovered after falling in the first round of last night’s Battle of Britain after a huge right hand from Dubois struck him on the chin.
Here is what he said after the fight:
Daniel DuBois
“Are you not entertained? I am a gladiator, a warrior who fights to the end. This is the biggest win of my career. I couldn’t let this opportunity go and now I want to go to the top level of this sport.
“I’ve been on a roller-coaster ride and it’s my time. I’m not stopping until I reach my full potential.”
Anthony Joshua
“No matter how angry I get, it is the way it is.
“I had a fast and quick opponent and I made a lot of mistakes. Credit goes to my opponent and his team.
“We rolled the dice and lost. You know I’m angry, but I’ll stay calm and respect my opponent.”
Frank Warren (DuBois’ promoter)
“It was a phenomenal fight, like Hagler vs. Hearns.
“It was a fantastic fight and everyone saw the performance of a champion tonight.
“Daniel has shown his courage, his skill.
“AJ caught him with a shot at the end and I was worried, but it was a great, amazing fight.”
Eddie Hearn (AJ’s promoter)
“AJ landed a big right hand in the first round and was fighting from the heart.
“He hurt Daniel at the end of the fourth and then again in the fifth but got greedy and went for the right hand and that was all he wrote.
“I’m sure Anthony will exercise the rematch clause.”
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But now that contest — which had been proposed several times for next spring — appears to be coming to an end.
And if it ever happens, it will be years too late — just like Floyd Mayweather’s disappointing points win over Manny Pacquiao when both were well past their best.
Joshua, who will turn 35 next month, was given the biggest beating of his life by the 27-year-old Dubois on Saturday – he never recovered from the powerful right hand that landed on him at the end of the first round.
And even Hearn – the promoter who has spearheaded Joshua’s lucrative career – has been openly speculating on whether enough is enough.
Hearn said: “Our interest is in making sure he leaves the sport with a legacy, a significant amount of money, but also with his health intact.”
Carl Froch angrily says ‘you don’t want this anymore’ as he resumes bitter feud with Anthony Joshua after KO of Daniel Dubois“If you start getting defeated like that, you definitely have to look into things.
“You never want to run too long, but at the same time AJ is a heavyweight who doesn’t really have a lot of miles on the clock.
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“Fighters need to defend themselves sometimes but AJ is a smart guy.
“We saw the best of AJ last year. It’s hard to say because he got hit on the chin tonight, that’s all it took.
“But he is in the final stages of his career, there’s no doubt about that.
“Now we have to have another fight with the Riyadh season and a rematch with Turki Alalshikh and Daniel Dubois are also part of the plan, but it could also be Tyson Fury or another heavyweight.”
Will it be exciting to see Joshua fight Fury now?
Fury is clearly a much better all-round boxer, regardless of whether or not he wins back his world title from Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh in December.
Round by round: How Dubois demolished Joshua
ANTHONY JOSHUA bravely picked himself up off the floor against Daniel Dubois – until he couldn’t go on any more.
AJ was knocked down four times by Dubois in round five before a powerful counter right ended the show in dramatic fashion.
Here, SunSport’s Jack Figg gives you a round-by-round look at the Wembley battle.
round 1
Dubois moved quickly with the jab and had Joshua bouncing around, struggling to deal with the piston-like left.
A massive right hand from Dubois sent AJ staggering backwards with his hands still down from the opening bell.
Joshua paid the price for his mistake, as he came out with his hands down and got felled by an overhand right.
Round 2
Joshua – who only survived the knockout at the bell after falling to the ground – struggles to move forward as he is hit with blows to the face.
AJ is stumbling around the ring and his guard is dangerously low again and the pressure is mounting.
Joshua is trying to get back in the fight, but his jab looks very sluggish – it looks like he can’t recover from the knockdown.
Round 3
AJ comes out with more intent, but swings wildly with a right hand and only connects with thin air.
Dubois increased the pressure and backed Joshua into the corner and scored another knockdown.
The bell sounds but then Dubois lands the ball a time or two – once again AJ is saved by the clock as the writing looks to be on the wall.
Round 4
Accident happens again, Joshua falls to the ground once again – he loses his balance the moment he touches the canvas.
The referee gave AJ another chance and Dubois landed a soft blow – which gave the challenger some relief.
Dubois slowed down as round four ended, while Joshua showed great resilience to stay in the match.
Round 5
Joshua lands a powerful right hand and Dubois’ legs buckle – a surprise turnaround looks likely.
AJ presses Dubois to the ropes and attempts one of his signature uppercuts, but the counter right hand gets there first.
Joshua is caught straight on the chin, knocked down once again and this time out for good. Dubois scores a stunning KO win.
And likewise, is there any particular advantage in a rematch with Dubois, given the youngster’s impressive win on Saturday night?
In the immediate aftermath of his fourth and most brutal defeat, Joshua remained adamant that he wanted to continue playing.
He said: “People will ask if I still want to continue fighting. Of course I want to continue fighting.
“We tried to succeed and failed – what does that mean now?
“Will we run away? Or will we live to fight another day? I am a warrior.”
As an Olympic gold medallist, two-time world heavyweight champion and a national treasure who has earned around £2.5 billion, Joshua can be proud of his career.
But now he enters the dangerous territory of an aging fighter looking for one final payday.
Read more at The Scottish Sun
To see him fight on until the fifth round against Dubois, after such a bad early knock-down, was an example of courage that bordered on recklessness.
The true courageous course for Joshua now would be to give up his deadly trade while there is still money to be made—so that he is still healthy enough to enjoy his enormous wealth.
Daniel Dubois defeats Anthony Joshua and becomes world heavyweight boxing champion
