Anatomy of the fight: Where it all went wrong for Anthony Joshua

Joshua’s legs never recovered from being knocked down in the first round and his counter-attack in the fifth proved a false dawn

Clearly Anthony Joshua’s ability to shift tickets and pay-per-view purchases is undimmed. A full house at Wembley is more than most fighters could ever dream of, even with Liam Gallagher as your support act.
 
Joshua’s continuing viability as a top-level heavyweight is rather more open to question after a comprehensive defeat in five rounds to Daniel Dubois. Here is how it all went wrong for Joshua in London in the IBF heavyweight title fight:
Easy to play Captain Hindsight with the result already known, but perhaps Joshua’s decision to arrive late at Wembley and warm up away from the stadium betrayed a certain complacency. It was an odd start to the fight, where you would expect some caution. Joshua left himself open with a wider stance than necessary and towards the end of the first round was floored by a huge overhand right which caught him flash on the chin. Joshua was up well before the count but in truth he never really recovered.
A visibly shaky Joshua hangs on throughout round two but is down once more in the following round, again towards its conclusion so is saved by the bell again. This time his legs gave way after a couple of jabs, a shot to the body then a left hook from Dubois. Joshua leans then sits on the ropes to steady himself but is paying the price for a curious defensive strategy, keeping his gloves noticeably low.
It briefly looks as if the fight has been waved off by referee Marcus McDonnell but he is in fact ruling what looked another knockdown as a Joshua slip. No doubting that the Olympic champion’s legs have gone though, this time he hits the canvas after stumbling without a huge amount of new provocation. The damage has already been done.
Some unusual body language crept in as the fight progressed, Joshua appeared to invite Dubois to take a seat at the end of the fourth round and stuck his tongue out at his opponent. Perhaps a desperate attempt to win the psychological battle at least, because the fight was clearly getting away from him after the opening minutes. There were reportedly words exchanged with someone in the crowd at one point too, which does not suggest the sort of laser focussed required for a challenge of this magnitude.
Some sense that an improbable comeback might be on the cards, with Joshua still wobbling but landing a decent shot at the end of the fourth round. Then an even more promising flurry during the fifth, culminating in a powerful uppercut, but this would be his undoing. As he attempted to capitalise on a seeming momentum shift Joshua leans forwards then is caught unexpectedly by a jab which floors him. This time he cannot get up. After the fight his manager Eddie Hearn salutes Joshua’s spirit but concedes he got greedy at this critical moment.
UNBELIEVABLE! 🤯DANIEL DUBOIS KNOCKS-OUT ANTHONY JOSHUA! 💣😯#JoshuaDubois #RiyadhSeasonCard pic.twitter.com/qztw67gma5
After the regrettable loss of temper following his rematch defeat to Oleksandr Usyk Joshua perhaps wisely stays diplomatic after the fight. “It is what it is,” he concludes, unhelpfully, and does not seem overly concerned about the emphatic nature of his defeat. Hearn says he is certain he will invoke a rematch with Dubois but he is more bullish than the majority of pundits and fans after another chastening night for Joshua.