DANIEL DUBOIS wrecked Anthony Joshua’s dream career ending with a right hand for the ages.
Dynamite Dan detonated a fifth-round shot – after dropping AJ three times in the previous four rounds – to keep his IBF world title and ruin AJ’s dream Spring mega-fight with Tyson Fury.
It was five of the most brilliant rounds imaginable.
AJ, 34 was cooked from the very start, dazed and confused, bouncing about the ring and then sticking his tongue out and trying to showboat.
But it wasn’t funny. It was potentially the end of an era. And the crowning of 27-year-old Dubois as bonafide world champion and a menace for everyone to now fear.
There was no brotherly glove lost between the two London heavyweights.
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But there was none on show when Liam Gallagher appeared to do a three-song set without newly reunited Noel, so this Idler’s Dream was dashed and it was back to work.
The last sprinkle of showbiz was a rerun of the Guy Ritchie directed promo that launched the mega-money 96,000 Wembley sell out.
Dubois played the role of a torture victim, strapped into a freezing bath where blood thirsty gangsters electricute him with jump leads.
But now he was really going in the deep end to see sparks fly, lock stock and two smoking biceps.
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The biggest headline of the fight-week build-up was Dubois’ new trainer Don Charles vanishing for the most critical days of Dynamite Dan’s career.
Thankfully Charles did appear and entered the ring with his charge with dad perched on the outside of the red corner.
Round by round: How Dubois demolished Joshua
ANTHONY JOSHUA bravely picked himself up from the floor against Daniel Dubois – until he could no more.
AJ was floored four times in five rounds by Dubois before a thudding counter right closed the show in dramatic fashion.
Here, SunSport’s Jack Figg takes you round-by-round from the Wembley war.
ROUND 1
Dubois comes out sharp with the jab as Joshua bounces around struggling to deal with the piston-like left.
Huge right hand from Dubois has AJ staggering backwards with his hands far too low from the opening bell.
Joshua made to pay for the mistake as he circles out with his hands down and gets dropped by an overhand right.
ROUND 2
Joshua – saved only by the bell after being floored – struggles to get going as he takes shots to the face.
AJ is tottering and teetering around the ring with his guard again dangerously low and inviting pressure on.
Joshua is attempting to get back into the bout but his jab looks far too lazy – he doesn’t look to have recovered from the knockdown.
ROUND 3
AJ comes out with more intent but swings wildly with a right and connects with only thin air.
Dubois pours on the pressure and hammers Joshua into the corner scoring another knockdown.
The bell sounds but Dubois lands one or two afterwards – again AJ is saved by the clock as the writing looks on the wall.
ROUND 4
Disaster strikes again with Joshua floored once more – losing his balance as he touches the canvas.
The referee gives AJ another fighting chance and Dubois lands a low blow – giving the challenger some valuable respite.
Dubois slows down as four rounds come to a close with Joshua showing sensational resilience to hang in there.
ROUND 5
Joshua lands a huge right hand and Dubois legs buckle – an astonishing turnaround looks to be on the cards.
AJ pins Dubois onto the ropes and attempts one of his signature uppercuts but the countering right hand gets there first.
Joshua is caught flush on the chin, dropped once more and this time out for good. Dubois scores a stunning KO win.
But when AJ emerged second – a baffling move considering he was the challenger – it was to the Godfather theme tune.
It seemed like Dubois needed back-up against the family. But he made a mockery of that plot from the very off
After he took control of the fight from the very first bell with a great jab, he made AJ look like the challenger he was, who should have been made to come first and wait in the ropes.
Then -with 16 seconds of the opener left – Dubois looked right over to his father dad and it looked like he was having daddy issues.
But he then unleashed a right hand that almost knocked AJ utterly spark out.
He collapsed to the floor and looked utterly doomed. It was a miracle he rose again and made the second on dodgy legs.
The second installment didn’t start any better, Dubois was landing every jab he threw and AJ’s legs were back in Watford, it was like the Andy Ruiz horrorshow being replayed.
But he rallied and recoverd and caught Dubois with a right hand that he had to eat.
Dubois started the third with a crisp one-two and AJ was like a rabbit in teh headlights, staggering around.
But he scored with an uppercut that suggested he was easing into the fight.
Then Dubois ledonated a left hook that robbed AJ of all of his senses and a count from outside the ring started.
Ref Marcus McDonnell ignored it but then Dubois battered him more and more and he collapsed into the ropes and was hauled up for a standing eight count.
As soon as the fourth started he was decked and counted again but he moaned it was a slip – that was three floorings in the opening four rounds, a slaughter.
Then he was down again and that was judged to be a slip and not counted.
It was almost slapstick and when AJ resorted to sticking his tongue out, to show he was having fun, we knew he was in total hell.
Then Dubois looked finished, AJ teed off and kept whacking him, Dubois looked seconds from quitting again or collapsing.
And then the punch that might have ended AJ’s elite level career came.
Dubois dug deeper than ever and landed the most vicious right hand imaginable.
AJ was annihilated. The ref made a mistake in even starting a count. It was over.
The Tyson Fury fight was probably blown and AJ’s dream of being a three-time world champion was in flames.
In June when the pair of London Adonises met to launch the fight, AJ threatened to “smash this f***ing chair over your face”.
Dubois never backed down, security had to separate them.
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But from there it seemed AJ’s old violent streak had been reignited and he revealed a loudmouth down the pub the week before had sparked his spiteful side into gear, just in time to face Dubois.
But it was DDD – who entered dressed like Mike Tyson – who only needed his fists to smash AJ into the Wembley canvas.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
