‘Why Joshua Lost to Dubois’ – Fury, Usyk, Joshua, Davison
Following Nigerian-British boxing great, Anthony Joshua’s shocking loss to IBF heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois, on Saturday, popular boxers and stakeholders including Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Ben Davison have reacted to the development, offering reasons.
Joshua was the favourite going into the game at Wembley in his attempt to become a three-time heavyweight boxing champion. He would have become the sixth great with the record.
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that Daniel Dubois however destroyed the dream and retained the IBF heavyweight title, knocking out the former two-time world champion in the fifth round in a dominant first defense of his belt.
Tyson Fury
However, in a reaction, Tyson Fury defended Anthony Joshua after his humbling defeat.
Despite such a one-sided all-British showdown that lived up to explosive expectations, Fury – who has long been linked with a superfight against Joshua – defended the beaten boxer.
“It’s heavyweight boxing, s*** happens, you get knocked spark out,” Fury told FightHubTV after watching the fight ringside. “It could have been me. In the heavyweight division, it’s what happens.
“What went wrong is what always happens in heavyweight boxing. A good right hand on the end of the chin, and that was it.”
“I thought it was a 50-50 fight. Dubois is a lot younger. He’s 27-years-old. Joshua is 35, the same age as me [Joshua is 34, Fury is 36]. Age doesn’t wait for anybody. You get hit with those punches [and] you don’t see many heavyweights get hit, get knocked down, get back up, and continue on.”
Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Usyk pinpointed Anthony Joshua’s faulty footwork as the major reason for his stunning defeat by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
“I’m not shocked because this is boxing. Daniel Dubois today was better,” Oleksandr Usyk told Boxing King Media, having watched on ringside. “Anthony had one problem. Because this position [leans back with feet planted], it’s dangerous. If you want to, you step back like this [takes one foot back], not like this [repeats lean] because this is dangerous. We saw.”
Joshua’s trainer, Ben Davison
Anthony Joshua’s trainer also opened up on the game plan which went so spectacularly wrong.
“We knew Dubois, he retreats when he jabs,” Ben Davison explained after the fight. “we tried to capitalise on that [but] for whatever reason, things didn’t get going in the early part of the fight. We just didn’t manage to get things going early.”
Joshua did find some rhythm in the fifth round and seemed to briefly have the upper hand, but Dubois responded with a barrage that killed off the fight.
“Then [there were] a couple of things we were trying to capitalise on at the end. A very short spell, landing that right hand, following up moments like that, but we didn’t apply the way we wanted to. By that point a lot has gone on, he’s not thinking straight.”
Joshua’s Loss and Dubois Reaction
Joshua had already been floored in the first and third rounds of a surprisingly one-sided fight at Wembley Stadium before falling face first after a straight right hand by Dubois. The referee waved off the all-British fight just as Joshua‘s corner threw in the towel.
Dubois roared “Are you not entertained?” to a record post-war boxing crowd in Britain.
“This is my time, my redemption story,” said Dubois, who became IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in June. “I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.
Joshua credits ‘sharp opponent’ and rues ‘mistakes’
“Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after his 13th world heavyweight title fight left him with a record of four defeats from 32 bouts.
He had first won the IBF belt in 2016 from Charles Martin at London’s O2 Arena. Joshua then lost it to Andy Ruiz in 2019 but won it back later that year. Usyk then took it from him in 2021.
“We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
