Wembley sensation: how Anthony Joshua ruined his career

On Sunday night, September 22, London hosted a fight between former world champion Anthony Joshua and his French compatriot Daniel Dubois. At stake was the IBF world title, left vacant after the refusal of Alexander Usik to defend it. What preceded the fight between the two super heavyweights, how the fight went and what to expect next - in the material "Izvestia".

What Joshua and Dubois have in common

In addition to the fact that both are holders of a British passport, they have recently boxed with Alexander Usik. Joshua did it twice: in 2021 and 2022, Dubois - a year later, in 2023, and each of these three fights ended in victory for the Ukrainian. The only difference is that both times Joshua brought the case to the referee's decision, and Daniel was able to last nine rounds of 12.

After Usik, both boxers returned to winning ways: Joshua won four fights: against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou. The London 2012 Olympic champion knocked out the latter in one and a half rounds, making boxing victory over mixed martial arts at the same time. In any case, on boxing platforms.

Dubois, in turn, knocked out undefeated Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic in his last two fights, which earned him the interim IBF championship belt and, more importantly, the opportunity to face Anthony Joshua in a fight for a full world title. Although Dubois had technically already entered the fight as world champion, he got the belt without a fight.

Joshua and Dubois also have knockout power in common: Anthony has knocked out 25 of his 28 wins, while Daniel has knocked out 20 of his 21. The sizes are also similar: Joshua's height is 198 cm, his opponent is 2 cm shorter. The weigh-in results are also almost the same: 114/112 kg, Joshua is slightly heavier.

The main difference between the boxers was experience. Joshua defeated many world champions during his career, including Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin and Joseph Parker. And Dubois' biggest win was over Croatian giant Filip Hrgovic. A good win, but nowhere near Klitschko or even Povetkin. Plus, Dubois wasn't an Olympic champion.

Daniel's only real advantage is age. Dubois is 27 years old and is at the peak of his physical strength and capabilities. 34 years old is not the limit for a heavyweight, but it's a little harder to keep yourself in perfect shape at that age.

What they said before the fight

Any fight needs to be warmed up, including this one. If you don't, it will look like another easy outing for Joshua before something really big. For example, before a third fight with Usik or an overripe but still hot fight with Deontay Wilder.

But the boxers, oddly enough, didn't really try to hurt each other before the fight. Dubois promised to force Joshua to give up and retire, and Anthony said almost nothing about his opponent at all, he was looking behind his back. Talked about a future third fight with Usik and that he wanted to box with Fury or Wilder. Dubois was considered as a sparring partner for training in front of 96 thousand spectators.

Such a huge number of spectators in itself means that the fight was generating gigantic interest in England. 96 thousand - a record for a boxing fight at Wembley, the organizers even had to launch additional ticket sales.

The grandiosity of the show was added by the fact that Liam Gallagher, a member of the legendary rock band Oasis, who recently reunited after 15 years, performed as a warm-up act before the main fight. Gallagher himself performed three songs. And the promo video for the fight was shot by Guy Ritchie. After that, could the fight itself disappoint?

The way Dubois took Joshua apart

And the fight itself became one of the main sensations not only this year, but also for the last couple of years. Before the opening bell, Joshua's chances of winning were estimated at over 75%, but boxing once again showed that it can be unpredictable.

From the first seconds of the fight Dubois went on the attack, which shocked his opponent. Surprisingly, Joshua was completely unprepared to be attacked from the start. And already in the first round Anthony found himself in a rather heavy knockdown, after Dubois delivered his right hand to his jaw.

The picture didn't change in the following rounds either. In the second Joshua again looked very slow and struggled to survive the pressure of his younger opponent. At the end of the third he was again at the ropes under a barrage of punches and was knocked down. He literally flew away - he almost fell out of the ropes. Is it possible to recover after something like that? No one believed in what was happening, and especially Eddie Hearn, Anthony's promoter. He was in no less shock than almost all the spectators at Wembley.

But the beating continued. Two more knockdowns happened in the fourth round, and not from the most accentuated blows. Joshua literally couldn't stay on his feet. The fight could already be stopped. The referee decided to release Anthony for the fifth three-minute round, which became the final one for the former world champion. Joshua decided to go on the attack, even hit his opponent and shook him, but immediately got a counter right to the jaw and went into a deep knockout.

We remember Joshua falling from Andy Ruiz, but that was six years ago. To see a two-meter giant, Olympic champion and multiple world champion literally crawling around the ring is sensational.

What's next

After the fight, Joshua paid tribute to his opponent. He said that he bet everything on this fight and failed. It happens, and you need to keep your cool and move on. Dubois, in turn, challenged Usik, but such a fight does not seem realistic yet, as Alexander is waiting for a rematch with Tyson Fury. And what will happen after it - it's impossible to guess. Maybe Usik will finish his career. Why does he need to fight a second time with Dubois, whom he knocked out a year ago?

Eddie Hearn has stated that Joshua will exercise the option of a rematch with Dubois, so that's likely what will happen. Anthony will pack Wembley again in the spring of 2025 to try and close out this defeat and get back on the winning track. If he loses again, the championship prospects can be put to rest. Those prospects may not be there even now. But Joshua's popularity will allow him to make big money even when there are no championship belts at stake. He will always have his Wembley.