Anthony Joshua is thumped to the ground by Daniel Dubois during their heavyweight fight for the IBF world title at
Wembley Arena in
London.
A significant bombshell saw
Anthony Joshua pass up the opportunity to become three-time world heavyweight
champion on Saturday night, as he was taken out by English opponent Daniel
Dubois in the fifth round.
Having overwhelmed in the initial
four rounds, Dubois finished the guard of his IBF heavyweight belt with a
staggering overhand right to Joshua's jawline 59 seconds into the fifth before
a record horde of 96,000 at Wembley Arena in London.
The outcome comes as an enormous
shock, with Joshua entering the battle in great structure having won his last
four battles, including taking out Francis Ngannou with a terrific second-round
knockout in Spring.
Having likely expected to
complete Saturday as world heavyweight champion - which would have set him in
the ideal situation to battle the victor of December's Tyson Rage Oleksandr Usyk
rematch and possibly become the undisputed hero of the division - Joshua is
presently out of nowhere scrambling to quickly return.
The 34-year-old - who has been crushed multiple times in 32 battles - has a rematch condition, which his
advertiser Eddie Hearn anticipates that he should work out. There is
additionally the opportunity for him will battle the washout of Wrath and Usyk.
"Credit to him and his
group. We tossed the dice of achievement, yet we missed the mark,"
expressed Joshua after the session. "We continue to throw the dice. I had
a sharp rival, a quick rival, and a great deal of errors from my end, yet that
is the game."
Joshua started the battle
promptly on the back foot, dropped by a right hand to the jawline in the main
round.
Dubois kept up the surge in the
second and third adjusts, the last option seeing him get his rival with an
immense left snare which left Joshua on the ropes, then start one more series
of shots to send Joshua down briefly time.
The most loved was bailed out by
luck, yet went down again in the fourth round following one more left snare
from Dubois.
The fifth saw Joshua start what
might have been an improbable rebound as Dubois began to tire. In any case, it
was fleeting, Dubois thumping down his adversary one final time.
Notwithstanding Joshua's endeavors to right himself, the battle was finished.
Dubois celebrates in the wake of winning his battle against
Joshua to hold his IBF heavyweight title.
It is undoubtedly the best snapshot of Dubois' vocation up to this point, and the 27-year-old has a shot at battling for the undisputed world heavyweight title following Fierceness and Usyk's rematch in December.
"I've just got a couple of
words to say: 'Are you not engaged?'" he said subsequently.
"I'm a fighter, I'm a
champion as far as possible. I need to get to this game's high level and reach my maximum capacity.
"I've been on a
rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my recovery story, and I won't
stop until I arrive at my maximum capacity."
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