By Abu Mahmood: Anthony Joshua (28-4-0, 25 KOs) challenged Daniel Dubois (22-2-0, 21 KOs) for the IBF heavyweight championship and lost by fifth-round knockout on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium of London. . The fight went like this:
Joshua landed 32 punches out of 117 punches thrown, with 2 of these landing to the body. Eighteen of these were jabs, and the other 14 were thrown power punches, with one landing to the body.
Joshua was more active in the third round where he threw 33 punches and landed 9 of them. His least active round was the 4th round in which he threw 13 punches and landed 5 before being stopped by Dubois.
Dubois had a strong performance. He threw 196 punches and landed 79 of them, 10 of which were landed on the body. Daniel Dubois had his most active round in the second in which he threw 51 punches and landed 20 of them.
Dubois had the perfect game plan; He took Joshua down and pressed him. Anthony Joshua is used to being the bigger guy and being able to take the fight to his opponents. So, it was clear that Joshua was surprised by Dubois’ tactics.
Through this tactic, Dubois was able to dictate the pace of the fight, which had Joshua playing catch-up from the first round itself. Dubois knocked Joshua down in the first round, to the shock of many who had pegged Joshua as the sure winner of this fight.
Joshua mounted a comeback by rocking Dubois with a punch, but that was the beginning of the end for Joshua, who, in his aggression, was countered by a devastating right hand from Dubois, which spelled the end of the fight.
Dubois now awaits the winner of Fury Vs Usyk 2 as he revels in his newfound superstardom after proving to fans and critics that he can hang with the best in his division. Dubois has expressed his intention of revenge against Oleksandr Usyk, after feeling cheated in his last fight.
Joshua is at a crossroads in his career, with the Tyson Fury fight now seemingly impossible, does he seek revenge by activating his rematch clause against Dubois or does he begin a rebuilding phase? At the age of 34, he should not waste time as he runs the risk of the division leaving him.
Writer’s take: The fight between these two showed heavyweight boxing at its best and reminded us all why it is boxing’s premier division. With the boxing landscape now changing, all eyes are now on Fury Vs Usyk 2 to provide a clearer view of who will end up on the Heavyweight throne.
