In what has to go down as one of the most one-sided and jaw-dropping upsets in recent professional boxing history, Daniel Dubois retained the IBF heavyweight championship with a fifth-round knockout of Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in London.
Dubois became just the second man to knock out Joshua — and only the third to beat him — in his professional career. The defending champion put on a display that was flat-out dominant and one of the most brutal beatings Joshua received in the ring.
“Dynamite” brought this pace right from the get-go, rocking the former two-time unified heavyweight champion in the first round and dropping him before the frame’s conclusion.
The pace did not stop, and Dubois appeared three steps ahead of Joshua. In fact, he rocked “AJ” again in the closing seconds of the third round, knocking him down before the bell sounded.
Dubois knocked Joshua down again in the fourth stanza, and he appeared to do so for a second time before it was ultimately ruled a slip.
Things ultimately ended in the fifth, just as Joshua finally seemed to buckle Dubois with a right hand, putting him on the back foot. The fan favorite charged in an attempt to attack but was cracked and dropped by a counter right hook that landed on the button.
Joshua was unable to answer the 10 count, giving Dubois the win and ensuring the championship wouldn’t change hands.
Daniel Dubois Puts On Beating, Retains IBF Heavyweight Title With KO Of Anthony Joshua
Dubois has now won three straight since his unsuccessful challenge of Oleksandr Usyk in August 2023. He became interim IBF heavyweight champion with a finish of Filip Hrgović in June and was promoted to full-time champion when Usyk — then-undisputed heavyweight champion — was stripped of the IBF title.
Meanwhile, this loss snaps a four-fight win streak that Joshua was on since dropping back-to-back WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight championship decisions to Usyk.
Joshua had previously held the IBF title from his win over Charles Martin in April 2016 (and going on to pick up the WBA and WBO titles in the process) until his infamous June 1, 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. Joshua regained the titles in a rematch with Ruiz that December.
