*Retains World Title belt
By Kunle Mudasiru
It was a bad day for Anthony Joshua on Saturday.
He was knocked out in the fifth round by
Daniel Dubois in their all-British showdown.
Dubois floored him repeatedly from the first to the fourth round at Wembley Stadium, London.
In about 120 seconds after Joshua said: “I live for moments like this”, he was sprawled on the canvas as Dubois knocked him out in the fifth round.
Joshua, former two-time champion, was dropped in the first and third rounds but beat the count on both occasions. But he hit the canvas face-first in the fifth session and was unable to continue as Dubois celebrated defending his world title in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearns, had predicted Dubois might be quick out of the gate and he lived up to that expectation, landing his jab in the opening stages and forcing Joshua back on to the ropes.
Joshua took his time to warm up but did land a right hand before Dubois was admonished for a second time for using his head. But Dubois dropped Joshua with seconds of the round remaining.
Joshua recovered, thanks partly to the bell sounding but was soon under pressure at the start of the second round. The challenger looked out of sorts as he flailed with his jab while being hunted round the ring. Another right hand saw him lose his footing but he survived to reach his stool.
Dubois was still quicker to the jab in the third round as Joshua’s head was snapped back time after time. He was being forced to hold the champion when he wasn’t backpedaling. When he did throw, Joshua was falling short and he was dropped again at the end of the round, falling to the canvas after the bell.
