Joshua vs Dubois LIVE: Fight result and reaction after stunning knockout at Wembley
Anthony Joshua suffered the most devastating loss of his career at the hands of Daniel Dubois, who defended his IBF heavyweight world title in front of a record crowd of over 98,000
Daniel Dubois retained the IBF heavyweight title by knocking out former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua in the fifth round in a dominant first defense of his belt on Saturday.
Joshua had already been floored in the first and third rounds of a surprisingly one-sided fight at Wembley Stadium before falling face first after a straight right hand by Dubois. The referee waved off the all-British fight just as Joshua‘s corner threw in the towel.
Dubois roared “Are you not entertained?” to a record post-war boxing crowd in Britain of over 98,000 fans in his first words after the fight.
“This is my time, my redemption story,” said Dubois, who became IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in June. “I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.
Relive all the action from Joshua vs Dubois and catch up on the undercard below:
Eddie Hearn reacts to Anthony Joshua defeat
“Probably get a good kip tonight, or try, it’s a difficult defeat, but at this point, you take any positives you can. The start was disastrous, the positives were the heart, guts to never give up,” Hearn said.
“Fighters say, ‘I’d rather get knocked out than go to points’, he went out on his shield. Remarkably, as bad as he performed, he could still have won the fight, fourth round he hurt Dubois, fifth round his legs buckled, but he walked onto a crushing right hand. There was no getting up.
“We have a contracted fight with Riyadh Season, which could include the Dubois rematch, we need some time. The start couldn’t have been worse. Dubois will be full of confidence, let’s see on 21 December, if Fury wins or loses.”
Ben Davison reacts to Anthony Joshua’s defeat to Daniel Dubois
“We knew Dubois, he returns when he jabs, we tried to capitalise on that, but for whatever reason, things didn’t get going in the early part of the fight,” Joshua’s trainer Ben Davison said.
“Just didn’t manage to get things going early. Then, a couple of things we were trying to capitalise on, at the end, a very short spell, landing that right hand, following up moments like that, but we didn’t apply the way we wanted to. By that point, a lot has gone on, he’s not thinking straight, a very difficult pill to swallow.
“We spoke about rolling the dice, he went out on his shield, he showed he’s not [hesistant to let his hands go]. We’re very gutted.”
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Joshua vs Dubois LIVE: ‘Nobody has done that to AJ'
It was Daniel Dubois’ night and promoter Frank Warren is making sure that nobody undersells his fighter’s achievement.
“It was phenomenal, nobody has done that to AJ like that, nobody,” he said. “This man has phenomenal power, a great chin himself.
“AJ caught him with some wonderful shots, a good uppercut, he took them. He’s got a good chin, he gritter his teeth and got him with the counter.
“We started this journey together, his family, Don has done a fabulous job as his trainer. He deserves every moment. It’s been a great ride.
“There are some brilliant fights to be made, he’s a young man, 27, that’s young for a heavyweight. The guys there now, there are some brilliant fights to be made.”
Joshua vs Dubois LIVE: Dubois disproves doubters
“I’m over the moon,” Dubois said. “They all said I was going to get knocked out and you saw who got knocked out.
“Tonight I became Daniel in the lion's den, I was unstoppable tonight. They all doubted me, the Lord had my back tonight.
“I want my rematch [against Usyk] and put the wrong right and come through it.
“It was a growing process and journey, tonight felt like a dream, I had to seize the moment, I thank my Dad and God for keeping me grounded and giving me this opportunity.”
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