Liam Gallagher warmed up a post-WWII boxing crowd of over 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London; however, Daniel Dubois (22-2) was the one who felt the best at the end of the night.
Anthony Joshua (28-4) was the betting favorite and crowd favorite against Brit Daniel Dubois. Dubois made those feelings irrelevant when he battered Joshua for five rounds.
From the opening bell, Dubois took it to Joshua. The younger Dubois was on the front foot from the opening bell; he was faster, stronger, and had a better game plan than Joshua tonight. Dubois knocked Joshua down in the first, third, and fourth rounds before knocking out Anthony Joshua in the fifth round to end the fight. Coming out of his corner before the fourth and fifth rounds, Joshua looked like a deer in headlights. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s longtime promoter, was shown to the crowd between rounds and looked worried.
Joshua had little success with his powerful jab, but his best fight came in the final minutes of the bout, just before two right hands from Dubois stunned and put Joshua down.
It looks like Joshua may have changed his job before last night; since consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, Anthony Joshua has won four straight. He won a decision over Jermaine Franklin before knocking out Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin, and mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou. The old AJ was back, according to some. Had he won the fight, Joshua would have faced the winner of the December rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury in 2025 in a vacant heavyweight championship. Now, Daniel Dubois will have that opportunity.
Dubois, 27, was a British heavyweight like Anthony Joshua. Dubois has two losses. In November 2020, he lost a match against Joe Joyce in which he was leading two of three cards before collapsing in the left eye socket in the tenth round. Another loss was last August against Oleksandr Usyk. In that fight, Dubois knocked Usyk down in the fifth round with a punch that appeared to be legal, and landed on Usyk’s belt. However, referee Luis Pablon ruled that the shot was below the belt, upheld the knockdown and gave Usyk the time he needed to recover. Usyk went on to stop Dubois in the ninth round to retain his undisputed heavyweight title.
Joshua, who turns 35 in mid-October, has a mid-life crisis to consider. With the career benefits of his fights and endorsement deals, Joshua will never need to work another day in his life. Although Joshua is new to the sport, he has been boxing since he was eighteen. For almost half of his life, martial arts is all he knows. His life has included many hours of hard training. Joshua has carried the weight of the United Kingdom on his shoulders since winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
Anthony Joshua dismissed the idea of retirement shortly after his defeat, saying he is a hero. Promoter Eddie Hearn explained, saying, “Everybody changes, right? Yesterday, he was in the shape of his life and has never looked better – wow, this is incredible, this new renewal. He has a bad start, falls, tries to regain his feet, and goes into battle without legs. And you find a way to return to the battle and go to another one. It’s heavyweight boxing, and that was the danger of this fight. It was exciting, and we feel like the situation is about to change, but you have to give credit to Daniel.”
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In Andy Clarke’s excellent book Knockout, veteran boxing journalist Steve Bunce said, “You can bounce back from a knockdown, but it depends on when that knockdown comes.”
June 1, 2019, was supposed to be the coronation of Anthony Joshua. His first fight in the United States was at the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden. He was facing Andy Ruiz, an unknown opponent who entered his place and was playing as a 25-1 underdog. Of course, instead of Joshua making a name for himself in America, Ruiz upset the apple cart. He took Joshua’s heavyweight title and his work ethic. Since that fateful night five years ago, after starting his career 22-0, Anthony Joshua has a record of 6-4 in his last ten fights.
Anthony Joshua’s career arc has shades of the famous British character:
Humpty Dumpty is sitting on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a big fall.
All the horses of the King, and all the men of the King
Couldn’t get Humpty together again.
Like Humpty Dumpty, Anthony Joshua will live on in English long after he is gone. Right or wrong, Joshua’s career will be similar to what happened in his first fight with Andy Ruiz and the career turmoil that ensued.
Amid all the histrionics about Anthony Joshua, we shouldn’t forget that this night is about Daniel Dubois. He also went from what could have been a career-defining defeat to Joe Joyce to becoming the most dangerous man in heavyweight boxing.
In the ring following the victory, Dubois said, “This is my moment, my story of redemption. I will not stop until I reach my full potential.”
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