Daniel Dubois successfully retained his heavyweight title on September 21 in an-all British clash against Anthony Joshua. The pair squared off in the main event live on PPV from Wembley Stadium in London, England.
The scheduled for 12 rounds world championship bout didn’t go the full distance. Dubois showcased his dominance sending Joshua to the canvas as many as four times – in the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds.
The first knockdown came from a big overhand right at the end of the opening round. At the end of the third round Joshua went down again from a barrage of punches from Dubois, touching the canvas with both of his gloves, but was only counted when the bell rang.
The third knockdown in the fourth round was from a combination that sent Joshua rolling almost under the ropes, but he tried to appeal that it was a slip. As the fight resumed, Dubois was right back at him, which saw Joshua going down again, but it was ruled a slip, although some initially thought that the fight was stopped and it was all over.
In the fifth round, Joshua went forward, but was met by a big right hand from Dubois that sent him face down on the floor for the fourth and final time. Referee Marcus McDonnell ultimately waved the fight off at 59 seconds into the fifth round after reaching count 10.
With the victory by knockout, two-time world champion Daniel Dubois successfully defended his IBF belt. The 27-year-old Londoner improved to 22-2, 21 KOs and secured his third win in a row.
Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua didn’t succeed in his attempt to get on top of the division for the third time. The 34-year-old native of Watford, England dropped to 28-4, 25 KOs, and got his four-fight winning streak snapped.