S Poddar
Anthony Joshua’s career was at a crossroads on a disastrous night at Wembley Stadium. Joshua was sent crashing to the floor in the fifth round by Daniel Dubois, undone by his opponent’s sheer, hard-hitting power. It marks the latest point in Joshua’s journey at which questions are asked as to where he goes from here in this unpredictable sport of heavyweight boxing.
Joshua has been here before. Last year, it was a shock loss to Andy Ruiz, while more recently outboxed, not once but twice, by Oleksandr Usyk. But somehow, this time seemed different: Joshua was completely overwhelmed from the start, his defeat unfolding slowly but brutally from the first bell. It marked his fourth-career loss, crushing the hopes of a title shot against Usyk, and casting a big question mark over a possible showdown with Tyson Fury.
Important context: Note that the victory by Dubois is important. While many questioned him at the start, he came into the fight as a reigning IBF heavyweight world champion. As some who could remember, he was promoted to the belt position earlier this year instead of winning it. Still, he proved his worth at Wembley on this day. Dubois dominated his contest and sealed it with a crushing blow that will be one of the most remembered devastating counters in the history of heavyweight boxing.
From the onset, it was clear that Dubois was the aggressor. It did not take long to get underway, within 30 seconds of that opening round Joshua was rattled, his composure shaken as Dubois launched a barrage of punches. While the early shots did not all land cleanly, it quickly became apparent Dubois had found his rhythm, and just before the bell rang to end the round he put in the punch which sent Joshua to the canvas for the first of what would be four knockdowns. The crowd of more than 98,000 at Wembley fell into complete silence, knowing an upset was brewing.
Dubois continued his domination with the second and third rounds. A vicious left hook from Dubois sent Joshua to his backside, into the ropes, where he took another relentless flurry of punches, resulting in yet another count from the referee.
Joshua showed trademark resilience, but so far, the adverse and punishing blows were putting him in clear danger. On fifth round, there flickered hope. Joshua landed a sharp right hand that shifted the momentum briefly. His eyes sparkled now with the possibility of the improbable comeback. But so it was not to be. Dubois controlled himself, even stepping clear of Joshua’s grasp, and delivered a cracking counterpunch that sent Joshua tumbling to the mat, knocking him out and thereby ending the fight, further dashing his hopes for reclaiming a world title.
However, earlier that evening, just as the fans were heading to the stadium, these big, big posters of Joshua greeted them, emblazoned with the phrase “Say Less.” Ironically, now following his loss, Joshua may need to say a lot more, as the question of whether he’ll invoke the rematch clause or opt for something else hangs precariously in the balance.
Wembley Stadium was the setting for many of Joshua’s most memorable moments over the past ten years, from the victory he will always remember against Wladimir Klitschko to a string of sold-out arena victories in the years that followed. Joshua was always a favorite among British boxing fans, although this was a return to Wembley after a few years following his earlier defeats to Usyk and the rebuilding phase of his career that took him to Riyadh and smaller arenas.
On the other hand, Dubois didn’t have the same dueling history with somebody of Joshua’s fame; indeed, his recent high-profile battle was against Usyk in Poland. But yet, despite being younger than Joshua, Dubois did the impossible thing that many thought could never be done. Since the heavyweight division has been in limbo, with Usyk and Fury the headline champions, hopes for the sport have mostly rested on the shoulders of these contenders: Joshua, Dubois, and others-though not least, Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, now are all desperately fighting to end up at the top as the sport waits to crown its next undisputed king.
It’s far from the first time Joshua and Dubois have clashed in the ring. Years ago, it was during a sparring session that, according to rumor, Dubois laid him low early with one heavy blow as the two worked out, rumors which hound both to this day, not to say rightly or wrongly. That raw power on show here is what allowed him to dominate Joshua with precision and poise.
He had been training with trainer Ben Davison for the last couple of months, a coach often feted but once again harshly criticized, yet the one who coaxed out the aggressive side in his fighters. Under Davison’s watch, Joshua had been showing glimpses of his old self -like he did in his recent wins over Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin-but on this night that was missing as Dubois stunned him with a wonderful victory.
Some of the sport’s biggest names were watching as the aftermath of the fight played out. Boxing legends such as Roberto Duran, Terence Crawford, heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk watched as Dubois celebrated his defining moment in the ring. One of them was a surprise musical activity in the evening when one would love to listen to their favorite song by Liam Gallagher. Excitement had also been met within the confines of the event that aims at Saudi Arabia’s relentless pursuit of a significant presence of boxing.
Joshua had some biting remarks in his pre-fight talk, making mention of hitting his opponent with a chair. At the end of the day, though, it was Dubois who earned all the respect inside the ring and has driven Anthony Joshua to make very difficult choices about his future in boxing. The road ahead may be fuzzy, but one thing is very clear: at the moment, Anthony Joshua stands at a crossroads in his career.
