A section of fans inside Wembley protested the Saudi Arabian national anthem before Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois.
But viewers at home thought the rendition was one of the best they’d ever heard on the card – forget Liam Gallagher.
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Iconic American announcer Michael Buffer announced that the Saudi national anthem would be played, followed by a tribute to King Salman, before the first bell was rung.
And for a few moments there was silence at Wembley as the stadium suddenly lit up in green and white – the colours of the Saudi Arabian flag.
The bout was held under the Saudi Arabian Riyadh Season promotional banner, with Turki Alalshik, a member of the Saudi royal court in charge of entertainment, standing in the middle of the ring to listen to the national anthem.
But as the Saudi Arabian chorus was about to end, a section of fans began hooting from the upper level.
And many pay-per-view fans at home also expressed their displeasure, with one commenting: “This is so embarrassing, how can they play this earlier?”
While another wrote: “Saudi national anthem in a fight between two British guys at Wembley! Absolute joke.”
However, ‘God Save the King’ was played immediately afterwards.
It is not uncommon for boxers’ national anthems to be played, but it was a first for a promoter’s national anthem to be played on foreign soil.
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Still others used the hilarious occasion to mock Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher – who performed three tracks ahead of the bout.
And their first performance following the announcement of the long-awaited sold-out Oasis reunion, went down like a lead balloon.
Many memes have criticised Gallagher’s shaky singing, with one fan asking if it was a “tribute show”.
While another declared: “Best singing on the AJ vs Dubois card tonight” alongside a photo of Rashid Al-Majed singing the Saudi national anthem.
Someone else said: “That Saudi national anthem was 100x better than Liam Gallagher singing it 😂”
While another wrote: “Don’t know what was worse, AJ, the Saudi Arabian national anthem or Liam Gallagher.”
“Please don’t ask Gallagher to sing the national anthem, he’s a nasty person,” a fourth joked.
A fifth said: “Liam got beat by the Saudi Arabian national anthem.”
Sky Sports were also forced to apologise for Gallagher’s “strong language”.
Watch Daniel Dubois’ incredible never-before-seen ringside angle of Anthony Joshua suffering a brutal KO as fans call the punch ‘brutal’Read more at The Scottish Sun
Meanwhile, Dubois, 27, retained his IBF heavyweight title by knocking out Joshua in the fifth round.
Joshua, 34, was knocked unconscious at the end of the first and third rounds, and was knocked down by a brutal right hand to the jaw in the fifth in front of a record 96,000 crowd at Wembley.
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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.
The story of Daniel Dubois’ incredible rise, from a broken eye socket and defeat to Usyk to knocking out Joshua at Wembley
