Dubois Stuns Joshua

Heavyweight bout ends in KO

Joshua knocked down by Dubois /

By Daniel Mukenya

Despite being a champion, Dubois pulled a stunner to inflict a fourth professional defeat on Anthony Joshua which denied him a chance of becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. This was the biggest post-war crowd for a boxing event in the United Kingdom.

Dubois’ power and aggression emphatically determined the outcome as he swatted Joshua around the ring with ease even though much had been made of Joshua’s knockout form. Joshua entered the fight on the back of a vicious stoppage of Franic Ngannou in March.

Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), of London, won the IBF interim title with an impressive eighth round TKO victory over Flip Hrgovic in June to set up the Joshua fight. He was later elevated to full champion weeks later when Oleksandr Usyk decided to fight Tyson Fury in a rematch instead of facing mandatory challenger Dubois.

Dubois, 27, had challenged Usyk for the WBC, WBO and WBA titles back in August 2023 where he thought he had won the fight in the fifth round with a body punch on Usyk, but referee Luis Pabon saw otherwise and ruled it as a low blow. Usyk dominated the fight after that, scoring a knockdown in Round 8 before finishing Dubois in the nineth.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs), of Watford, England, suffered his first loss since August 2022.

It was a crushing defeat for Joshua that has left his options shrouded in doubt and his reputation damaged. Talks prefight were Joshua versus Fury, but this thrashing changed things after the 34-year-old was left bouncing off the canvas and discombobulated in Round 5.

Joshua made a composed start, but was dropped by an arcing right hand for his first count towards the end of the first round. Joshua got up on wobbly legs but was saved by the bell.

The bell again came to Joshua’s rescue, but his legs betrayed him as he touched down for another count early Round 4. He was lucky not to get a second count in Round 4.

Dubois had dropped Joshua several times before he landed the final blow, a crunching right hand in Round 5 that saw his English rival fall to the canvas for fourth career loss, while Dubois retained his IBF belt.