DANIEL DUBOIS is on cloud nine after beating Anthony Joshua – but he had to endure some hardships on his way to the top.
Joshua was knocked out in the fifth round after a devastating five-round performance from Dubois, and ‘Dynamite’ defended his IFB world title for the first time.
6
6
6
6
He knocked AJ out four times, making him one of the best heavyweight boxers in the world.
It has been a tough journey to the top for Dubois, who began boxing at the age of seven and was trained by his father until two years ago.
A prodigious amateur boxer, Dubois was invited to train in the G.B. Boxing programme at the age of 16, but declined the opportunity to fight in the Olympics in favour of turning professional.
He had a good start to his professional career as he won his first 15 bouts and several titles, including the British heavyweight belt against Nathan Gorman in 2019.
A year later, in a virtually empty stadium due to Covid restrictions, Joe Joyce faced the first major test of his career.
Dubois put up a good fight, but a devastating blow from Joyce broke his eyeball, causing him to lose the fight.
Dubois was unable to see out of his left eye due to swelling and was knocked out in the tenth round after suffering a knee injury.
He was ahead on two of the three judges’ cards when the bout was stopped, leading some to accuse Dubois of being a “defeatist”.
Best free bet sign up offers for UK bookmakersS
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
‘This cost me £150 million, stupid’, Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua is now ‘in shit’ after KOing DuboisJoshua 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.
Carl Frampton and David Haye were also among the critics, of whom David Haye said he was “very unhappy with the way the song took a knee”.
Frampton said: “I think we all like Dubois, he’s a likeable guy.
6
‘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.”
“But if he’s someone we don’t like we’d say he’s a person who gave up. And I think that’s where he gave up.”
“I have to be completely honest, the truth is that he hurt his knee after getting shot in the eye.
“His eye was damaged, his eye was closed but I was pulled out of the ring. I’m not going to be pulled out by taking a knee.”
Dubois responded to this setback by winning his next four fights and will now face world champion Oleksandr Usyk, who has beaten Joshua twice.
Once again the Londoner put up a good fight and thought he had scored a knock-down, but the referee deemed his punch below the belt, before Usyk showed his class and secured a knock-out win in the ninth round.
Dubois was disappointed after the loss but Usyk reassured him of his ability and told him not to give up hope of becoming a world champion.
“It’s not bad. It’s boxing. It’s not ballet, it’s not dancing,” the Ukrainian told him in the ring.
“Daniel, you’re young. You can do it. You can dream. Man, keep calm, this is boxing. It’s a tough sport, brother.”
Once again, Dubois gathered courage from defeat and bounced back with impressive wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic to capture the vacant IBF world title and secure a fight with Joshua.
Read more at The Scottish Sun
Still, he was a weak opponent, but he tried to prove a point and knocked Joshua out with a powerful right hand in the first round.
From then on he dominated, landing more punches than AJ in every round, and landed a devastating blow in the fifth round to cement his place at the top of the world.
