3 months ago
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DANIEL DUBOIS’ former trainer expertly predicted the exact moment he would beat Anthony Joshua just seconds before the decisive punch was thrown.
Dynamite Dan defeated Joshua with a knockout punch in the fifth round of their Wembley showdown, having already downed his rival three times in the opening four rounds.
Getty
GettyHowever, one key piece of advice that trainer Ben Davison gave to AJ may have been the final nail in the coffin.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Shane McGuigan was listening into the corner advice as a pundit.
Davison could be heard advising AJ before the fifth round by saying: “We’ve got to be smart.
“He’s stepping in with the jab everytime unless you’re galloping around.
“Bring it up… roll the dice. Double in his eyes, bring it up.”
McGuigan, who trained Dubois from 2021 to 2023, said: “I think that’s dangerous advice there to be honest.
“Getting him to bring him up off the double jab, Daniel throws that right hand straight off that double jab.
“And by bringing it up he means an uppercut, he’s going to walk himself straight onto his short right hand.
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“If you ask me I would say keep your hands up tight and get through these next two rounds and then use your athleticism late down the stretch.”
And just seconds into the fifth round, Mcguigan’s analysis turned out to be spot on.
AJ attempted to close up and pressure Dubois with by countering his jab with an upper cut.
But he was then caught out without his guard up as Dubois landed a vicious jab before Joshua could swing his uppercut.
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.
Following the fight, Davison said: “I was asking for something from him.
“And he let me know he was okay and was actually talking in there.
“And then he came back before the last round and said ‘this is the moments we live for’.
“He also spoke about ‘rolling the dice’ and that is exactly what he did in that round.
“People talk about when they are having an off night and it was an off night for AJ.
“But I’d like to say, me and my team have received a hell of lot of credit for good performances he’s had, so it’s important we take responsibility for the bad performance as well.”
'Are you not entertained? I'm a gladiator' - What Dubois and Joshua said after brutal fight
DANIEL DUBOIS annihilated Anthony Joshua’s dream of becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion, writes Wally Downes Jr.
Joshua was floored FOUR times as Dubois landed an astonishing fifth-round knockout in front of a record 96,000 Wembley crowd and millions of TV viewers to retain his IBF belt.
AJ, 34, never recovered after being downed in the first round of last night’s Battle of Britain showdown as a huge Dubois right-hand haymaker caught him flush on the chin.
Here’s what they said after the fight:
DANIEL DUBOIS
“Are you not entertained? I’m a gladiator, a warrior to the bitter end. This is the biggest win of my career. I couldn’t let this opportunity go and now I want to go to the top level of this game.
“I’ve been on a roller-coaster ride and this is my time. I’m not gonna stop until I reach my full potential.”
ANTHONY JOSHUA
“As p***ed off as I am, it is what it is.
“I had a sharp, fast opponent and there were a lot of mistakes from me. Credit to my opponent and his team.
“We rolled the dice and came up short. You know I’m p***ed but I’m going to keep cool and give respect to my opponent.”
FRANK WARREN (DUBOIS’ PROMOTER)
“It was a phenomenal fight, like Hagler v Hearns.
“A brilliant fight and everybody has seen a champion’s performance tonight.
“Daniel has shown his courage, his skills.
“AJ caught him with a shot towards the end and I was worried, but what a fabulous, fantastic fight.”
EDDIE HEARN (AJ’S PROMOTER)
“AJ shipped a huge right hand in the first round and was fighting on heart.
“He hurt Daniel at the end of the fourth and then again in the fifth, but got greedy and walked on to a right hand and that’s all she wrote.
“I’m sure Anthony will exercise the rematch clause.”
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