Anthony Joshua was humbled by Daniel Dubois on Saturday night and ringside microphones picked up a three-word comment to trainer Ben Davison which did not age well.
AJ was knocked down by a huge power punch in the first round and the two-time world heavyweight champion never recovered. Underdog Dubois also had him down in the third and twice in the fourth, with Davison forced into crisis management mode when Joshua returned to his stool before the fifth.
“We get through them [these moments],” he said. “This is what it’s about. We get through them. F***ing warrior spirit, but we’ve got to be smart.”
After receiving instructions from his team, Joshua said: “Roll the dice, innit? At the start of this round he’s going to come out fast.” Davison responded: “Yeah, so be ready. Slip and bring it up, he’ll step in with his jab.”
Joshua pondered that during a brief moment of silence in the corner, and then said: “He is s***.”
The 34-year-old was on the canvas less than three minutes later – this time after a shot he could not get up from, as a briefly hurt Dubois timed a short right-hand to perfection while Joshua went searching for a knockout.
Dubois vindicated his status as the IBF world heavyweight champion and made himself the top contender to face either Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, depending on which fighter wins their hotly-anticipated rematch in December.
But he may first have to beat Joshua for a second time as promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that he would likely look to activate a rematch clause in the fight contract.
A stunned AJ told DAZN after the bout that he has no plans to retire and made a lot of mistakes against Dubois, who extended his professional record to 22 wins and two defeats.
“Credit to him and his team,” said Joshua. “We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short. You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring, but I’m going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent.
“I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… 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.”
