Daniel Dubois KNOCKS OUT Anthony Joshua in HUGE upset after savage onslaught in front of 96,000 stunned fans at Wembley
DANIEL DUBOIS wrecked Anthony Joshua’s hopes of a dream career ending with a right-hander for the ages.
Dynamite Dan detonated a fifth-round shot — after dropping AJ three times in the previous four rounds — to keep his IBF world title and ruin AJ’s dream spring mega-fight with Tyson Fury.
They were five of the most brilliant rounds imaginable.
Joshua, 34 was cooked from the very start, dazed and confused, bouncing about the ring and then sticking his tongue out and trying to showboat. But it wasn’t funny — and it was potentially the end of an era.
It was also the crowning of 27-year-old Dubois as bona fide world champion and a menace for all of the other heavyweights to now fear.
There was no brotherly glove lost between the two Londoners.
And there was none on show when Liam Gallagher appeared to do a three-song set without newly reunited Noel — so this Idler’s Dream was dashed and it was back to work.
The last sprinkle of showbiz was a rerun of the Guy Ritchie-directed promo that launched the mega-money 96,000 Wembley sell-out.
Dubois played the role of a torture victim, strapped into a freezing bath where bloodthirsty gangsters electrocute him with jump leads.
But now he was really going in the deep end to see sparks fly — lock stock and two smoking biceps.
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The biggest headline of the fight-week build-up was Dubois’ new trainer Don Charles vanishing for the most critical days of Dynamite Dan’s career.
Thankfully Charles did appear, entering the ring with his charge with dad perched on the outside of the red corner.
Round by round: How Dubois demolished Joshua
ANTHONY JOSHUA bravely picked himself up from the floor against Daniel Dubois – until he could no more.
AJ was floored four times in five rounds by Dubois before a thudding counter right closed the show in dramatic fashion.
Here, SunSport’s Jack Figg takes you round-by-round from the Wembley war.
ROUND 1
Dubois comes out sharp with the jab as Joshua bounces around struggling to deal with the piston-like left.
Huge right hand from Dubois has AJ staggering backwards with his hands far too low from the opening bell.
Joshua made to pay for the mistake as he circles out with his hands down and gets dropped by an overhand right.
ROUND 2
Joshua – saved only by the bell after being floored – struggles to get going as he takes shots to the face.
AJ is tottering and teetering around the ring with his guard again dangerously low and inviting pressure on.
Joshua is attempting to get back into the bout but his jab looks far too lazy – he doesn’t look to have recovered from the knockdown.
ROUND 3
AJ comes out with more intent but swings wildly with a right and connects with only thin air.
Dubois pours on the pressure and hammers Joshua into the corner scoring another knockdown.
The bell sounds but Dubois lands one or two afterwards – again AJ is saved by the clock as the writing looks on the wall.
ROUND 4
Disaster strikes again with Joshua floored once more – losing his balance as he touches the canvas.
The referee gives AJ another fighting chance and Dubois lands a low blow – giving the challenger some valuable respite.
Dubois slows down as four rounds come to a close with Joshua showing sensational resilience to hang in there.
ROUND 5
Joshua lands a huge right hand and Dubois legs buckle – an astonishing turnaround looks to be on the cards.
AJ pins Dubois onto the ropes and attempts one of his signature uppercuts but the countering right hand gets there first.
Joshua is caught flush on the chin, dropped once more and this time out for good. Dubois scores a stunning KO win.
But when AJ emerged second — a baffling move considering he was the challenger — it was to the Godfather theme tune.
It seemed like Dubois needed back-up against the family.
But he made a mockery of that plot from the off.
After the 27-year-old took control of the fight from the very first bell with a great jab, he made the older man look like the challenger he was — the man who should have been made to come first and wait in the ropes.
Then — with 16 seconds of the opening round left — Dubois looked right over to his father and it looked like he was having daddy issues.
But he then unleashed a right hand that almost knocked AJ spark out.
Joshua collapsed to the floor and looked utterly doomed.
It was a miracle he rose again and made the second on dodgy legs.
The second instalment didn’t start any better for Joshua either.
'Are you not entertained? I'm a gladiator' - What Dubois and Joshua said after brutal fight
DANIEL DUBOIS annihilated Anthony Joshua’s dream of becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion, writes Wally Downes Jr.
Joshua was floored FOUR times as Dubois landed an astonishing fifth-round knockout in front of a record 96,000 Wembley crowd and millions of TV viewers to retain his IBF belt.
AJ, 34, never recovered after being downed in the first round of last night’s Battle of Britain showdown as a huge Dubois right-hand haymaker caught him flush on the chin.
Here’s what they said after the fight:
DANIEL DUBOIS
“Are you not entertained? I’m a gladiator, a warrior to the bitter end. This is the biggest win of my career. I couldn’t let this opportunity go and now I want to go to the top level of this game.
“I’ve been on a roller-coaster ride and this is my time. I’m not gonna stop until I reach my full potential.”
ANTHONY JOSHUA
“As p***ed off as I am, it is what it is.
“I had a sharp, fast opponent and there were a lot of mistakes from me. Credit to my opponent and his team.
“We rolled the dice and came up short. You know I’m p***ed but I’m going to keep cool and give respect to my opponent.”
FRANK WARREN (DUBOIS’ PROMOTER)
“It was a phenomenal fight, like Hagler v Hearns.
“A brilliant fight and everybody has seen a champion’s performance tonight.
“Daniel has shown his courage, his skills.
“AJ caught him with a shot towards the end and I was worried, but what a fabulous, fantastic fight.”
EDDIE HEARN (AJ’S PROMOTER)
“AJ shipped a huge right hand in the first round and was fighting on heart.
“He hurt Daniel at the end of the fourth and then again in the fifth, but got greedy and walked on to a right hand and that’s all she wrote.
“I’m sure Anthony will exercise the rematch clause.”
Dubois was landing every jab he threw and AJ’s legs were back in Watford, it was like the Andy Ruiz horror show being replayed.
But he rallied and recovered — catching Dubois with a right hand that he had to eat.
Dubois started the third with a crisp one-two and AJ was like a rabbit in the headlights, staggering around.
But Joshua scored with an uppercut that suggested he was easing into the fight.
Then Dubois threw a left hook that robbed AJ of all of his senses — and a count from outside the ring started.
Ref Marcus McDonnell ignored that call.
Then Dubois battered him more and more and he collapsed into the ropes and was hauled up for a standing eight count.
As soon as the fourth started Joshua was decked and counted again — but he moaned he had merely slipped.
Even so, that was three floorings in the opening four rounds. A slaughter.
Then Joshua was down again and that time it was judged to be a slip — and not counted.
It was almost slapstick and when AJ resorted to sticking his tongue out, to show he was having fun, we knew he was in total hell.
Then, suddenly, Dubois looked finished.
AJ teed off and kept whacking him and Dubois looked seconds from quitting again or collapsing.
But then came the punch that might have ended AJ’s elite level career.
Dubois dug deeper than ever and landed the most vicious right hand imaginable.
AJ was annihilated. The ref made a mistake in even starting a count. It was over.
The Fury fight was probably blown and AJ’s dream of being a three-time world champion was in flames.
In June when the pair of London Adonises met to launch the fight, AJ threatened to “smash this f***ing chair over your face”.
Dubois never backed down and security had to separate them.
But from there it seemed AJ’s old violent streak had been reignited and he revealed a loudmouth down the pub the week before had sparked his spiteful side into gear — just in time to face Dubois.
But it was DDD — who entered dressed like Mike Tyson — who only needed his fists to smash AJ into the Wembley canvas.