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Boxing

Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois: Where was the fight won and lost?

Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois: Where was the fight won and lost?Matchroom Boxing
There were some major turning points along the way to DDD's legendary fifth round knockout of the two-time world champion at Wembley Stadium.

Anthony Joshua's dream of becoming a three-time world champion was left in tatters on Saturday night after Daniel Dubois stunned him at Wembley Stadium.

DDD handed AJ a fifth round knockout defeat, only the second of his career, on his way to defending the IBF heavyweight title he inherited from Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year.

For Dubois, victory legitimises his world champion credentials in a first successful defence, and against one of the division's modern greats too on the back of a career rebuild.

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But just where did it all go right for him, and where did it all go wrong for Joshua? DAZN looks through some key moments to pinpoint where the bout was won and lost.

Dubois drops Joshua first - Round 1

As pre-fight favourite following four increasingly fast wins since a loss to Usyk in 2022, Joshua was expected to control the fight from the offset - but Dubois barely gave him a shot.

The IBF champion had his opponent backed into the ropes multiple times, and then dropped him with a spectacular right to the chin just before the bell in the first round.

For Wembley Stadium, it was as if all the air had been sucked out of north London. DDD had arrived first and fastest.

More hits to the body - Round 2

If Joshua had been able to succeed in countering Dubois after that first-round stunner, he might have been able to swing the momentum early doors here.

But a terrific melee combination barely seconds into the second allowed his opponent to unload on the body, adding to the ruthless damage he landed on the head at first.

There was little to suggest Joshua had anything to give in his tank here, and the whispers of an upset steadily turned towards a scream.

Saved by the bell - Round 3

The legs had been wavering before, but it was late in the third where they really turned to jelly for Joshua - and that invited Dubois to land his most devastating display yet.

joshua-20240921-ftr(Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

As his footing seemed to crumble, the former champion was backed onto the ropes, gloves briefly on the ground, while his rival unloaded a ruthless combination.

It was the bell that saved Joshua though, as he fell to a knockdown just as the ring echoed around the stadium, leaving him staggering up off the canvas.

Down, down - Round 4

Barely seconds into the fourth and Dubois had Joshua on the floor twice again, though only one was deemed to be a knockdown by the officials.

A jab followed by a left hook sent him sprawling to the canvas again, and when he slipped shortly after regathering his footing, it looked like it could be that.

But Joshua stubbornly hung on, and the sheer exertion of a flying four rounds looked to be telling for Dubois too, breathing almost as heavily as his foe.

The countered counter-attack - Round 5

Joshua's pedigree is well-known. There have been wins across his career where he has dug himself out of a hole, and even with the damage taken, some felt he was still in this.

With Dubois gasping for air, the former champion took his chance and landed a right, followed by another to the head. He had him backed into the corner, ready to turn the tide.

But the counter-attack was to be countered in the decisive moment. As Joshua swung for an uppercut, Dubois snuck a response straight onto his chin at close-range.

It crumpled him to the canvas, and after so much punishment, proved to be the limit. DDD retained his titles and denied Joshua another shot at history.

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