By 1news.co.nz and is republished with permission
Brit Daniel Dubois has retained the IBF heavyweight title by knocking out former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua in the fifth round in a dominant first defence of his belt.
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 96,000 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.”
Joshua, who took the WBO crown off Kiwi Joseph Parker in 2018, entered as the favourite, as he sought to emulate boxing greats like Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis as a three-time heavyweight champion, but he was outclassed by Dubois, who completed his mission to legitimise his status as a heavyweight titleholder.
Dubois has put himself in position to potentially fight the winner of the rematch between WBA, WBC and WBO champion Usyk and Tyson Fury.
“I’m a gladiator, I’m a warrior to the bitter end,” he said. “I want to go to the top level of this game.”
Joshua vows to continue boxing after a fourth defeat over the last five years and promoter Eddie Hearn wants to exercise the rematch clause. This was the worst of all those losses, with Joshua saved by the bell in the first and third rounds after the knockdowns.
“I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent,” he said. “A lot of the mistakes were mine.”
Dubois was positive from the start, dominating with his right hand, and was well in control by the time he knocked down Joshua the first time with an overhead right.
Joshua stuck out his tongue at Dubois, as he walked back to his corner, but he was clearly hurt, as he returned for the second round.
His legs buckled after two lefts from Dubois, who waited until the third, before unleashing his next big shots.
As Dubois let his hands go, Joshua fell into the ropes, after being hit by the left. His legs were wobbling, as the referee performed an eight-count, but he survived.
Joshua appeared disorientated, swung wildly and fell to the canvas twice in the fourth round, although both were ruled as slips.
The end came 59 seconds into the fifth, as Joshua attempted to get on top of Dubois. The champion rocked his opponent with a left hook and then caught him again with a right that sent Joshua down.
“Credit to him and his team, we came up short,” said Joshua.
