Daniel Dubois Demolishes Anthony Joshua

In front of a massive crowd, IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois knocked out the highly-favored Anthony Joshua and left no doubt on Saturday who’s the best British boxer.

No doubt.

London’s own Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) left 96,000 fans shocked with a dominant and decisive victory over Britain’s popular Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) at Wembley Stadium in London.

Among those in the crowd were champions Terence Crawford, Conor McGregor and Oleksandr Usyk.

It didn’t take long for Dubois to display an aggressive attack behind a ramrod jab and superior defensive technique. An overhand right connected and down went Joshua as the crowd gasped. The former champion beat the count at the end of the bell.

Dubois, 27, opened up the second round with an array of punches as Joshua somehow survived. Though under attack, Joshua did return fire and that kept his opponent from unloading.

But it was apparent that Dubois had a better chin than Joshua at this point.

In the third round Dubois connected with another right that seemed to throttle Joshua. A lead right followed by a very stiff left jab snapped Joshua’s head back. Joshua returned with four stiff jabs of his own, but his adversary connected with another right cross and then a left hook that shook Joshua. Dubois opened fire with nearly a dozen blows and down went Joshua again. He beat the count again. Barely.

It appeared that one more big blow might end the night.

Dubois moved in aggressively and after a short combination down went Joshua. But the referee ruled it was a slip. The heavyweight fight continued as Joshua grabbed the aggressive Dubois after every combination. It seemed Dubois might be tiring or that Joshua was setting a trap. Near the end of the round, you could see Joshua looking to time his opponent.

In the fifth round a more aggressive Joshua with seemingly fresher legs came out to meet Dubois. Both fighters looked aggressive with Joshua opening up with combinations. After a slight pause both engaged and both connected with Dubois’ stronger rights and lefts depositing Joshua to the floor a fourth time and seemingly unconscious. The referee counted Joshua out at 59 seconds into the fifth round.

Fans let their emotions show with mouths open and hands over their heads. The victor seemed the only calm soul in the arena.

“This is my redemption story,” said Dubois.

It was only a year ago that he was called a quitter in a loss to Oleksandr Usyk. Most ignored the fact that Dubois should have been called the winner when he floored Usyk with a body shot. The referee erroneously ruled it a low blow. Replays showed the punch was on the belt. Not on the groin.

Despite that showing against Usyk, and knockout wins over Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Filip Hrgovic, he was dismissed as a mere opponent to showcase Joshua.

“We rolled the dice and came up short,” said the always classy Joshua. “Give respect to my opponent.”

Indeed.

Frank Warren, who promotes Dubois, said that his fighter could return as soon as December.

Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who promotes 34-year-old Joshua, said they have a rematch clause.

When Dubois was asked his next choice, he replied: “maybe Usyk. Or whoever wants it, you can come get it.”

Indeed.

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