Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were not surprised by Daniel Dubois’ stunning victory over Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
Dubois successfully defended his IBF world heavyweight title, flooring Joshua with a series of punishing knockdowns from Rounds 1 to 4.
The decisive moment came in the fifth round when Dubois delivered a knockout blow, leaving Joshua incapacitated on the mat, unable to recover before the referee’s count concluded.
The upset silenced Wembley, which had initially greeted Dubois with boos, only to later celebrate him as Britain’s newest heavyweight champion.
“He did a very good job fair play to young Dan,” praised Fury, acknowledging Dubois’ underdog status despite being the reigning champion.
“Everyone wrote him off, you know. Coming in, he was the [IBF] champion and everyone treated him like he was a bum. He showed what he is made of. It’s very good for him fantastic.
“I thought it was a 50-50 fight [going into it]. Dubois is a lot younger at 27. AJ is 35, like me. Age doesn’t wait for anybody, does it? It is what it is…After I beat Usyk, I’ll fight Dubois. That’s my plan.”
Usyk, having defeated both Dubois and Joshua previously, commented: “I’m not shocked because this is boxing. Daniel Dubois today was better. When you step back like this [leaning back], it’s dangerous. When I beat Joshua a second time, I don’t know what’s next.”
Despite being on a four-fight winning streak and tipped to ascend once more to the top of the heavyweight division, Joshua’s hopes were dashed by Dubois’ commanding display.
After the bruising encounter at Wembley Stadium, he has faced mounting pressure to hang up his gloves. Yet, Joshua remains resolute in his boxing journey, stating: “Before I came here, I’m always saying to myself, ‘I’m fighter for life.’ We rolled the dice at success and we came up short and we roll it again. We keep rolling the dice.”
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has confirmed that there is a rematch clause in place with Dubois. Hearn remarked: “I’m sure he will exercise that rematch clause. I mean, I think that’s a given.”
He added that while Joshua will need time to recover and faces a perilous return bout, he believes in his ability to overcome Dubois.
Hearn said:”But he’ll need a rest and it’s a dangerous fight this guy’s growing in confidence but he’ll believe he can hurt Dubois. He’ll believe he can beat him but full credit to Daniel Dubois he deserves all the credit it was a great performance from Daniel.”
