Daniel Dubois knocks out Anthony Joshua to claim shock victory and remain IBF world heavyweight champion
A major upset saw Anthony Joshua miss out on the chance to become three-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday night, as he was knocked out by British rival Daniel Dubois in the fifth round.
Having dominated in the opening four rounds, Dubois completed the defense of his IBF heavyweight belt with a devastating overhand right to Joshua’s chin 59 seconds into the fifth in front of a record crowd of 96,000 at Wembley Stadium in London.
The result comes as a huge shock, with Joshua entering the fight in good form having won his last four fights, including taking out Francis Ngannou with a spectacular second-round knockout in March.
Having likely expected to finish Saturday as world heavyweight champion – which would have put him in the perfect position to fight the winner of December’s Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk rematch and potentially become the undisputed champion of the division – Joshua is now suddenly scrambling to bounce back.
The 34-year-old – who has now been defeated four times in 32 fights – has a rematch clause, which his promoter Eddie Hearn expects him to exercise. There is also the chance he will fight the loser of Fury and Usyk.
“Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after the bout. “We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Joshua began the fight immediately on the back foot, dropped by a right hand to the chin in the first round.
Dubois kept up the onslaught in the second and third rounds, the latter seeing him catch his opponent with a huge left hook which left Joshua on the ropes, then begin another series of shots to send Joshua down for a second time.
The favorite was saved by the bell, but went down again in the fourth round following another left hook from Dubois.
The fifth saw Joshua begin what would have been an unlikely comeback as Dubois started to tire. But it was short lived, Dubois knocking down his opponent one last time. Despite Joshua’s attempts to right himself, the fight was over.
It is undoubtedly the greatest moment of Dubois’ career so far, and it is the 27-year-old who now has a shot at fighting for the undisputed world heavyweight title following Fury and Usyk’s rematch in December.
“I’ve only got a few words to say: ‘Are you not entertained?’” he said afterwards.
“I’m a gladiator, I’m a warrior to the bitter end. I want to get to the top level of this game and reach my full potential.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story, and I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.”
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