Wow. That’s still the emotion, the reaction, some hours after seeing what went down at Wembley last night – namely former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua, and very possibly his career as anything approaching an elite fighter.
Daniel Dubois, a considerable underdog, albeit one we all knew had seriously hefty punching power, dropped AJ four times in getting him out of there in the fifth. It was indeed stunning to see, even if Andy Ruiz did a not altogether dissimilar upset job on Joshua a little over five years ago.
Dubois, once having to eat the “quitter ” tag, made Joshua eat power punch after power punch. It was, surprisingly, a one-sided fight after the opening round knockdown “Dynamite” inflicted on 34 year old Joshua, this with his big right hand.
Joshua showed again that there is nothing wrong with his heart, the former champ getting up time and again and trying to get into the fight. But this, at age 27, was very much Dubois’ crowning night. The full IBF champion, Dubois now has to be looked at as a very real threat to the two top guys, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. Dubois of course lost to Usyk last year (being stopped after scoring “that” knockdown earlier on), but could he change the result in a return fight? While Dubois against Fury is a truly fascinating prospect.
As for Joshua, it really could be the end. How many times can any fighter keep coming back, switching trainers and trying to rebuild? Joshua has had a great career, and he is a probable Hall of Famer, but can he possibly come back after last night, his most crushing defeat? How much punch resistance has AJ got left at this point?
As for where last night’s upset ranks amongst the real shockers from the heavyweight division, mDubois KO 5 Joshua may not rank up there with Buster Douglas KO 10 Mike Tyson (does any boxing upset come close?), but you could argue that last night’s upset sits alongside Ruiz KO Joshua, Hasim Rahman KO Lennox Lewis, and one or two others.
Wembley rocked last night, as was Anthony Joshua’s world.
Huge credit to Daniel Dubois (I picked AJ to stop him in two), and let’s see what more there is to come from this down to earth ring warrior who may not yet have reached his physical prime.
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