- AJ was bidding to join elite group of three-time world champions with a win
- Dubois dominated the favourite from the start before finishing him in the fifth
- Promoter Hearn admitted he had to ‘take any positives’ he could from the loss
Eddie Hearn has admitted that Anthony Joshua had a ‘disastrous’ start to his knockout defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
The 34-year-old entered the fight hoping to join an elite group of boxers, including Muhammad Ali, who have been three-time world champions.
Played out in front of a record 96,000-strong crowd under the famous arch, the bout delivered on the promise of being a ‘firefight’ with neither boxer paying much attention to defending or point-winning, instead winding themselves up for a knockout blow.
And it was Dubois who produced a coming-of-age performance to dominate the two-time champion for four-and-a half-rounds before a dramatic exchange of punches in the fifth saw the underdog land the decisive strike.
In the aftermath, Joshua’s promoter Hearn gave his verdict on the contest, explaining that his fighter suffered a poor start which he failed to recover from.
He said: ‘It’s a difficult defeat but at this point you have to try and take any positives you can.
‘The start was disastrous. The only positive is the unbelievable heart and guts he showed to never give up.
‘As bad as he performed tonight, he still could have won the fight.
‘In the fourth round he hurt Dubois, in the fifth round Dubois’ legs bucked. But he walked onto a crushing right hand.’
Hearn’s assessment comes after Joshua expressed his desire to ‘continue fighting’ despite the monumental setback in London on Saturday night.
He told reporters: ‘You’re probably asking if I still want to continue fighting, of course I want to continue fighting.
‘We took a shot at success and we came up short and what does that mean now? Are we going to run away?
‘We’re going to live to fight another day. And that’s what I am – I’m a warrior.’
Moments after the fight’s denoument, Joshua admitted he wanted to ‘kick off in this ring’ following the ferocious knockout in the fifth round.
He said: ‘Credit to [Dubois] and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short.
‘You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring, but I’m going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent.
‘I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… 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.’
The fight was contested at a dizzying pace from the very start of the first round, with Joshua experiencing an onslaught from his younger opponent that he will not forget in a hurry.
An early set of jabs were followed by a huge right hand which rocked Joshua at the end of the round, leaving the former champion on his haunches but, miraculously, he survived the count with no small help from the bell.
The second set of three minutes followed on in similar fashion. A good shot early in the round had AJ rocked but the 34-year-old somehow balanced himself using the ropes and his opponent’s body.
In the third, a zoned-in Dubois caught the Watford man with a right hand to send him staggering backwards once more as a shocked Wembley watched on almost in silence, shocked at the clinical display from Dubois.
At the end of round three there was more chaos as Dubois rained down yet more costly blows, with the bell going before the referee could do his count.
Once he got round to it, he was convinced that Joshua could fight on – but for how much longer?
A gripping fight threatened to turn into a farce after the former champion tripped over twice at the start of round four causing confusion at Wembley, with the referee counting the first as a knockdown a counting down a bemused Joshua who beat his chest defiantly.
A fired-up Dubois then came straight out and rocked Joshua once more. After such punishment it was barely believeable that the pre-bout favourite was still up and clinching.
Then, the show-stopping fifth.
The determined former champion surprisingly struck Dubois with a strong right hand to cause the younger fighter serious trouble.
With Joshua sensing blood, Dubois then produced the punch of his career with a right hand just a split second before the two-time champion could land his own decisive blow.
Joshua was down for good this time but he had gone out swinging.
