LONDON (AP) — Daniel Dubois is no longer an accidental heavyweight champion of the world.
With a brutal fifth-round knockout of Anthony Joshua in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Dubois showed that he could be the real boxer – and the future of boxing’s premier class.
“Aren’t you guys feeling amused?” Dubois roared to the crowd after dominating the all-British title fight, completing his bid to legitimise his status as heavyweight titleholder, three months after winning the IBF belt vacated by Oleksandr Usyk.
Dubois, 27, entered the ring first – an unusual twist given he was the champion – to add to the feeling that this was seen as a homecoming for Joshua, who was the darling of British boxing for decades and, as a three-time heavyweight champion, sought to emulate the likes of Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis.
Dubois left the ring as the heavyweight division’s next big star, knocking Joshua down in the first and third rounds before ending the fight 59 seconds into the fifth round with a counter right that sent Joshua face-first to the mat.
Joshua’s corner threw in the towel, but it wasn’t necessary. For a boxer whose best days are behind him, there was no turning back.
“This is my time, my story of redemption,” said Dubois, who put himself in position to potentially face the winner of the rematch between WBA, WBC and WBO champion Usyk and Tyson Fury on Dec. 21. “I will not stop until I reach my full potential.”
The defeated Joshua vowed to continue boxing after his fourth defeat in the last five years. His promoter Eddie Hearn said he wanted to invoke the rematch clause.
This was the worst of those losses, however. Joshua was saved by the bell after knockdowns in the first and third rounds and delivered a lame performance throughout, while Dubois broke through his defenses with ease.
Joshua never recovered from a right from above late in the first round that knocked him to the floor. He stuck his tongue out at Dubois as he returned to his chair, but he was clearly hurt, disoriented and vulnerable.
The knockdown towards the end of the third round by a powerful left from Dubois threw Joshua on his butt through the ropes.
“I had a strong opponent, a fast opponent,” said Joshua. “But many of the mistakes were mine.”
A record number of boxing spectators in the post-war era witnessed a changing of the guard.
Joshua has been a marketing phenomenon for the past decade, selling out British stadiums and earning hundreds of millions of dollars, largely on the strength of his punching power. He could come back, but certainly not as a realistic title contender after slipping to 28-4.
Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) is undoubtedly the future. He said after the fight that he wanted to fight Usyk again, against whom he lost last year in Wroclaw, Poland – but only after he had sent the Ukrainian to the mat with a controversial low blow from which Usyk had time to recover.
Otherwise, we may be in for a lucrative fight with the 36-year-old Fury.
“I’m a gladiator. I’m a warrior to the bitter end,” Dubois said. “I want to be at the top of this game.”
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