Sep 21, 2024, 5:47 PM ET
Daniel Dubois surprises with a spectacular KO over Anthony Joshua at Wembley to defend his IBF title.
LONDON — Daniel Dubois He left the race Anthony Joshua on the brink of the precipice after knocking out his rival with a right to the jaw in the fifth round in the first defense of his IBF world heavyweight title on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium in London.
Anthony Joshua lived a nightmare as Daniel Dubois knocked him down in rounds 1, 3 and 4 before the wild finish after 59 seconds of the fifth round.
Anthony Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois. Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Despite being the champion, Daniel Dubois sprang a surprise by inflicting a fourth professional defeat on Anthony Joshua, who was denied the chance to become a three-time world heavyweight champion in front of 96,000 fans, the largest crowd in the history of a boxing event in the United Kingdom.
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Much was made of Anthony Joshua’s knockout ability and he came into the fight fresh from a brutal knockout of Francis Ngannou in March, but it was the power and aggression of Daniel Dubois that determined the outcome as he dominated a jelly-legged Anthony Joshua from the opening round.
The win opens up the possibility of Daniel Dubois fighting for the undisputed heavyweight title in 2025, against the winner of the December 21 clash between WBC, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, who were both ringside. Usyk stopped Daniel Dubois in the ninth round in August last year. Anthony Joshua must now hope for a rematch with Daniel Dubois, or perhaps a showdown against the loser on December 21 after another serious setback in his career.
COMPUBOX STATS
HitsJoshuaDuboisConnected
in total 3279 Released
Total117196Percentage27%40%Jabs connected1830Jabs thrown82100Percentage22%30%Power punches
connected1449Power strokes
launched3596Percentage40%51%
Also on the card, Anthony Joshua Buatsi defeated Willy Hutchinson by split decision to win the vacant interim WBO light heavyweight title. Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs), originally from Accra, Ghana, and now residing in London, had won 13 of his first 15 fights by stoppage, but has gone the distance in his last four.
Hutchinson (18-2, 13 KOs), of Carstairs, Scotland, was rapidly rising through the ranks of British boxing until suffering a fifth-round TKO loss to Lennox Clarke in March 2021. Hutchinson rebounded to win five straight fights before falling to Buatsi.
