3 months ago
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ANTHONY JOSHUA had a classy two-word response when asked what went wrong in his defeat to Daniel Dubois.
AJ was knocked out at Wembley after his British rival landed a vicious jab in round five – having also previously downed the 34-year-old three times in the previous four rounds.
Getty
GettyThe defeat saw Joshua lose the chance to become a three-time heavyweight world champion, with Dubois retaining the IBF world title.
Asked what went wrong by Dazn, he said simply: “The opponent.”
Joshua went on to add: “Credit to him and his team, we rolled the dice at success and we came up short.
“You know I’m p****d, you know I’m ready to kick off in the ring. But I’m going to keep my cool and keep very professional and give the respect to my opponent.”
Speaking in the ring following the showdown, Joshua also lamented “mistakes” in his own performance, saying: “If I’m honest it’s a bit of a mix (losing because of me and my opponent).
“I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent. And secondly a lot of mistakes from my end.
“But that’s the game, as p****d off as I am, it is what it is.”
Joshua also did a short press conference following the fight against the advice of promoter Eddie Hearn.
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In that, he said: “Firstly, always walk with your head high. We took a shot at success and we came up short unfortunately. We rolled the dice man, for the third time.
“That’s 13 world title fights, not every one has been successful, but every one has been fun and entertaining.
“We’re trying to create history for British boxing and I think we’re doing that and also I appreciate all the press and media – the fans aren’t here but I thank them through you.”
He added: “Do I want to continue? Of course I want to continue fighting.
“That’s why I said we took a shot at success and we came up short, and what does that mean now?
Round by round: How Dubois demolished Joshua
ANTHONY JOSHUA bravely picked himself up from the floor against Daniel Dubois – until he could no more.
AJ was floored four times in five rounds by Dubois before a thudding counter right closed the show in dramatic fashion.
Here, SunSport’s Jack Figg takes you round-by-round from the Wembley war.
ROUND 1
Dubois comes out sharp with the jab as Joshua bounces around struggling to deal with the piston-like left.
Huge right hand from Dubois has AJ staggering backwards with his hands far too low from the opening bell.
Joshua made to pay for the mistake as he circles out with his hands down and gets dropped by an overhand right.
ROUND 2
Joshua – saved only by the bell after being floored – struggles to get going as he takes shots to the face.
AJ is tottering and teetering around the ring with his guard again dangerously low and inviting pressure on.
Joshua is attempting to get back into the bout but his jab looks far too lazy – he doesn’t look to have recovered from the knockdown.
ROUND 3
AJ comes out with more intent but swings wildly with a right and connects with only thin air.
Dubois pours on the pressure and hammers Joshua into the corner scoring another knockdown.
The bell sounds but Dubois lands one or two afterwards – again AJ is saved by the clock as the writing looks on the wall.
ROUND 4
Disaster strikes again with Joshua floored once more – losing his balance as he touches the canvas.
The referee gives AJ another fighting chance and Dubois lands a low blow – giving the challenger some valuable respite.
Dubois slows down as four rounds come to a close with Joshua showing sensational resilience to hang in there.
ROUND 5
Joshua lands a huge right hand and Dubois legs buckle – an astonishing turnaround looks to be on the cards.
AJ pins Dubois onto the ropes and attempts one of his signature uppercuts but the countering right hand gets there first.
Joshua is caught flush on the chin, dropped once more and this time out for good. Dubois scores a stunning KO win.
“We’re going to run away and live to fight another day, I’m a warrior.
“And also before I finish credit to our opponent as well, Daniel.
“Even though when I sign up to fight an opponent I don’t really like them anymore, but now it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done to him and his team.
“And also thank you to my team as well for the way they prepared me.
“There were a few mistakes in there but that’s the name of the game, fine margins can cost you at the top level, so thank you.”
Punch stats from the fight revealed how Dubois landed 40 per cent of his punches, while by comparison AJ landed just 27 per cent.
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