Daniel Dubois knocks out Anthony Joshua to claim shock win and remain IBF world heavyweight champion

CNN
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A huge upset saw Anthony Joshua lose his chance to become a three-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday night, losing via knockout to British challenger Daniel Dubois in the fifth round.

After dominating the opening four rounds, Dubois completed the defence of his IBF heavyweight title with a devastating right uppercut to Joshua’s chin 59 seconds into the fifth in front of a record crowd of 96,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The result comes as a huge shock, with Joshua coming into the fight in good form after winning his last four fights, including a stunning second-round knockout of Francis Ngannou in March.

Although he was expected to end Saturday as world heavyweight champion – which would have put him in perfect position to fight the winner of the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk rematch in December, and potentially become the undisputed champion of the division – Joshua is now suddenly struggling to get back on track.

The 34-year-old – who has now been defeated four times in 32 fights – has a rematch clause, which has been agreed to by his promoter Eddie Hearn. Expected There is also a chance that the loser of the Fury-Usyk match will fight.

“We thank him and his team for their efforts. We took a risk to succeed, but we did not succeed.” Joshua said After the match, he said: “We keep taking risks. I faced a strong opponent, a fast opponent and I made a lot of mistakes on my part, but this is the game.”

Joshua immediately started the fight on the defensive, having been landed with a right hand to the chin in the first round.

Dubois continued his attack in the second and third rounds, the latter of which saw him land a powerful left uppercut on his opponent that left Joshua on the ropes, then he began another series of strikes to send Joshua to the ground for the second time.

The favorite was saved by the bell, but fell again in the fourth round after another left uppercut from Dubois.

In the fifth round, Joshua began to return to the ring after Dubois began to tire. But this did not last long, as Dubois dropped his opponent one last time. Despite Joshua’s attempts to correct himself, the match was over.

This is undoubtedly the greatest moment of Dubois’ career so far, and now the 27-year-old has the chance to fight for the undisputed world heavyweight title after the Fury-Usyk rematch in December.

“I only have a few words left to say: Are you not enjoying yourself?” he said next.

“I am a wrestler, I am a fighter until the end. I want to reach the highest level in this game and reach my full potential.

“I have been on an eventful journey. My time has come, this is my redemption story, and I will not stop until I reach my full potential.”