Round-by-Round: Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois | PPV - 21 September 2024

[Deserter]

It wasn't. Don't get me wrong, it was more or less full. Pockets of empty seats, though.

It's a bit of a joke the way the media is happy to report the claimed numbers of any promoters verbatim. I remember back in 2008 when media around the world would all faithfully report that 17% of the world's cranes were in Dubai, even though it made no sense at all if you stopped to think about it for just a moment.

[tigermoth87]

That was great. I love seeing AJ knocked out, I have always said he is a fraud and a bum with a GLASS jaw. Gets exposed time and time again. This time, against a C LEVEL fighter at BEST.

[skanksta]

Surely he's got to knock it on the head now, I'm sure he has a rematchroom clause but that would be a seriously bad idea.

I see what you did !

[cormack]

It seemed a premeditated plan to go with his gangster image. What an idiot.

Don’t know what the gangster image has to do with any premeditated plan. Just an observation seeing a rigid Joshua looking cold against a relaxed loose Dubois warm and ready to do what was needed to win.

Why do you think that such an experienced boxer chose to stand staring at his opponent rather than loosening up/staying warm?

overlooked him - listened to all the pros and pundits saying DD had only a punchers chance .

[Ruthless-RKO]

That was great. I love seeing AJ knocked out, I have always said he is a fraud and a bum with a GLASS jaw. Gets exposed time and time again. This time, against a C LEVEL fighter at BEST.

You’re given AJ more credit there and not doing Dubois any justice. He’s not C level.

Thing with HW boxing is, they’re all big men and they all punch hard. As dirty as Dubois is and he’s not my favourite. He’s done well recently. Even against Usyk, he was doing well.

[jamesmcdonnell]

You bring up Charles Martin like it's his biggest win but conveniently ignore Klitschko, Parker, Povetkin, Pulev and Whyte. He unified three belts and beat former, current and future belt holders. You can't deny he has depth in his wins for this era. He also didn't duck Usyk and didn't duck the rematch either, same against Ruiz. He signed to fight Fury and had Hearn offer Wilder a chunk of change for that fight too. He also surely has more mandatory defences than any active heavyweight combined. I think the argument that he has been protected is not a great one.

No mate, not conveniently ignoring them. Parker, Povetkin, Pulev and Whyte are no great shakes historically. If they had been around in, say, the 90s, I'm not sure they'd be any more remembered than Alex Zolkin or Alex Stewart. Just my view, I'm sure you and others disagree. Klitschko was very old and coming off a long lay off, you could be accused of conveniently ignoring that fact when citing him as an example of depth.

The point I'm making is that Joshua, ballsy tho he is, has fought the right guys at the right time. I was fairly certain Dubois would KO him, because I felt if DD went after him AJ wouldn't be able to defend himself or take a punch, which is a bit odd when adjuging a "two time heavyweight champion". Wilder is another one. He is chinny and inept and yet has more title defences than Foreman and Bowe combined. It's embarrassing really, who can become champ now and make millions.

That's a fantastic, well thought out post.

I thought that Joshua would be more aggressive, he'd shown a return to that mindset under davidson, and I thought he'd rediscovered his mean streak, but for whatever reason, he couldn't replicate that against Dubois.

I agree that Joshua, historically, is pretty poor, a few good wins on his resume, but nothing that makes him anhything close to an ATG - top 20 maybe, though not sure.

Dubois is ok, good offensive fighter, but pretty basic, and the fact Joshua was so easily dismantled, shows his level.

Be interesting to see a rematch between Duboius and Usyk, will DDD's confidence grow, and does that give him a better chance in a rematch - I would still favour Usyk, as he's the class of the division, without a doubt, the most well rounded, versatile and skilled fighter, and as he showed against Fury, no slouch when it comes to punch power either.

[Glass Joe]

[BigDoofus]

Don’t know what the gangster image has to do with any premeditated plan. Just an observation seeing a rigid Joshua looking cold against a relaxed loose Dubois warm and ready to do what was needed to win.

Why do you think that such an experienced boxer chose to stand staring at his opponent rather than loosening up/staying warm?

overlooked him - listened to all the pros and pundits saying DD had only a punchers chance .

I would suggest it is an image he is trying to portray.
At the press conference he turned up in a vest, told Dubois not to “disrespect” him and threatened to put a chair across his face.
For his walk on music last night he chose “The Godfather”.

[The Gratest]

[cormack]

Why do you think that such an experienced boxer chose to stand staring at his opponent rather than loosening up/staying warm?

overlooked him - listened to all the pros and pundits saying DD had only a punchers chance .

I would suggest it is an image he is trying to portray.
At the press conference he turned up in a vest, told Dubois not to “disrespect” him and threatened to put a chair across his face.
For his walk on music last night he chose “The Godfather”.

yes I thought aj`s demeanour at the press thing was a bit weird and aloof - expecting to be shown respect by dubois who wants to knock you out was silly .
Presumably way back then he just expected to train turn up and get the win and the IBF belt then move on to either fury or usyk for all the belts next year .
Counting chicken`s

[forcefraser]

Big Dan absolutely mullered AJ in there last night, ragdolled him, bossed him and smashed him all over.

That right hand at the end of the first would have put most heavyweights to sleep, credit to Joshua, he showed big heart to stay in there and take his beating. He almost got him in the 5th with that big right hand and then got sparked in the ensuing dogfight.

Dubois`s new mind set is great, he just doesnt give a F*ck, its do or die and that makes him so dangerous. His jab is so powerful.

Poor old Fast Car. His cash cow has gone, whodoes he have left in the UK?

He`s seeing Frank with fighters like Fury, Dubois, Joyce, Chisora, Wardly, Itauma, Adeleye, Dacres, Nick Ball, Sheeraz, Hutchinson, Yarde, Cacace, Liam Davies, McCann,.

Eddie is a mile behind in the UK. His foreign fighters are quality but he must be losing a fortune on them, having overpaid at every step.

Frank is the daddy

[jamesmcdonnell]

Big Dan absolutely mullered AJ in there last night, ragdolled him, bossed him and smashed him all over.

That right hand at the end of the first would have put most heavyweights to sleep, credit to Joshua, he showed big heart to stay in there and take his beating. He almost got him in the 5th with that big right hand and then got sparked in the ensuing dogfight.

Dubois`s new mind set is great, he just doesnt give a F*ck, its do or die and that makes him so dangerous. His jab is so powerful.

Poor old Fast Car. His cash cow has gone, whodoes he have left in the UK?

He`s seeing Frank with fighters like Fury, Dubois, Joyce, Chisora, Wardly, Itauma, Adeleye, Dacres, Nick Ball, Sheeraz, Hutchinson, Yarde, Cacace, Liam Davies, McCann,.

Eddie is a mile behind in the UK. His foreign fighters are quality but he must be losing a fortune on them, having overpaid at every step.

Frank is the daddy

Yes, AJ deserves credit for the desire to remain in the fight he showed, if little else.

I worry that he's a little delusional, I don't understand why he was sticking his tongue out and clowning around, when he was getting smashed up in there - did he think that it was just a matter of time before he landed big - eventually he didn,. but instead of calmly following up with jabs and straight rights to soften Dubois up, he just started swinging for the rafters, suicidal, especially as Dubois still had enough gas left in the tank.

Dubois kept beating him to the punch all night long, which is the biggerst concern for me, suggests AJ's reflexes have fone, which is common at his age, just a slight deterioration is enough,

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

You bring up Charles Martin like it's his biggest win but conveniently ignore Klitschko, Parker, Povetkin, Pulev and Whyte. He unified three belts and beat former, current and future belt holders. You can't deny he has depth in his wins for this era. He also didn't duck Usyk and didn't duck the rematch either, same against Ruiz. He signed to fight Fury and had Hearn offer Wilder a chunk of change for that fight too. He also surely has more mandatory defences than any active heavyweight combined. I think the argument that he has been protected is not a great one.

No mate, not conveniently ignoring them. Parker, Povetkin, Pulev and Whyte are no great shakes historically. If they had been around in, say, the 90s, I'm not sure they'd be any more remembered than Alex Zolkin or Alex Stewart. Just my view, I'm sure you and others disagree. Klitschko was very old and coming off a long lay off, you could be accused of conveniently ignoring that fact when citing him as an example of depth.

The point I'm making is that Joshua, ballsy tho he is, has fought the right guys at the right time. I was fairly certain Dubois would KO him, because I felt if DD went after him AJ wouldn't be able to defend himself or take a punch, which is a bit odd when adjuging a "two time heavyweight champion". Wilder is another one. He is chinny and inept and yet has more title defences than Foreman and Bowe combined. It's embarrassing really, who can become champ now and make millions.

Ironically as impressive as they looked, Foreman and Bowe could get outboxed by Parker. Foreman got outboxed by Jimmy Young and Schulz. Bowe got outboxed by Golota, Tubbs and Holyfield when he actually boxed with a gameplan.

You're also underrating Povetkin who was a top technician who Wlad needed to cheat against. Old and past his best against AJ though. Wlad may have been old but he was still in incredible condition and easily the best 40yo HW of all time. I had Wlad well up on points too.

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Looks like he's gained 3 stones since his last fight. Bet the house on Usyk

[tonyevs]

All depends on Usyk-Fury II now. It'll set up Joshua-Fury perfectly if Usyk wins more comprehensively.

I think it's blatantly clear now (as hindsight always does clarify things) just how overhyped the two former Kings and ATGs actually were.

Fury embarrassed by Wallin, Ngannou, and to some extent Wilder given how terrible Wilder proved to be.
AJ being destroyed by Ruiz and now Dubois.

There is no point in Fury and AJ fighting each other now that both have had their level exposed; I doubt very much Turki would want to pay what both AJ and Fury would still demand anyways.

I was at Usyk v Dubois, Fury v Usyk and AJ v Dubious. It was clear to see the top two are streets ahead of the others. AJ is miles off the top boys, to put Fury into that category just spells bitterness. Unless you don't rate Usyk either as Fury ran him fairly close, too. After timing on Wilder as well.... You're the sort of guy who doesn't rate Frazier beating Ali the first time because of what Larry Holmes did.

The top two now are clearly Usyk and Dubois - mindful they are the only two belt holders in the division and the likes of AJ and Fury have now lost their last fights of course - but of course your bias to Fury and bitterness to anybody else in the division probably means you still rank Fury as top .. and Usyk as a distant second.

Your off with the fairies again by sounds Mick .. no idea why your bringing Frazier, Ali, or Larry Holmes into this

[mickey1975]

I'll spell it out to you. Fury lost to Usyk, it remains his only loss, but was competitive in the fight, enough to still be ranked number two. Dubois lost handily to Usyk. He beat AJ convincingly, probably enough to make him number three when combined with his wins over Miller and Hrg.
The Ali/Foreman thing came in when you dismissed Wilder based on his recent form. Ali beating Foreman and losing to Larry Holmes was the same time difference as Wilder v Fury 1 and Wilder v Zhang. Do you really think either man was the same in each fight?

[handsofstone]

I'm not saying Joshua has a great chin but it's solid enough and I don't think anyone can question his heart anymore, tactics and horrendous defense cost him, Dubois exploited it perfectly, Usyk and Fury both go down from that shot in round 1 as well IMO whether they'd get caught with it is another matter though

[keithmoonhangover]

I was at my son's wedding, so haven't seen the fight. Someone at breakfast this morning said Joshua's feet were slipping on the canvas, is that true?

[jamesmcdonnell]

I was at my son's wedding, so haven't seen the fight. Someone at breakfast this morning said Joshua's feet were slipping on the canvas, is that true?

He slipped once, the rest of the time, he was being punched to the canvas.

[Controversial]

Just rewatching it and AJs behaviour in the fight was odd. Beating his chest, acknowledging people ringside mid fight, poking his tongue out and showing Dubois where his stool was at the end of the 4th are a few things he done.

[Coco]

The usual that the loser is rubbish and can't fight nonsense

AJ came out very tentatively, got caught with a bomb, never recovered, DDD job well done

[gilgamesh]

Caught the highlights this morning. That's AJ's most lopsided loss yet for sure. Dubois was hurting him and rocking him on a regularly basis, and finally put him down for the count in the 4th.

[dookus]

I was at my son's wedding, so haven't seen the fight. Someone at breakfast this morning said Joshua's feet were slipping on the canvas, is that true?

He slipped once, the rest of the time, he was being punched to the canvas.

I thought he rolled his right ankle after taking the left hook that hurt him in round 3 (just before the knockdown - see 1:21-1:22 at

Not sure that that was significant, though, he just had no idea what to do with a man with the size, strength and power of Dubois coming straight at him.

[Controversial]

The usual that the loser is rubbish and can't fight nonsense

AJ came out very tentatively, got caught with a bomb, never recovered, DDD job well done

Yeah I agree, he was on shaky legs everytime Dubois landed, never really recovered from 1st round.

[keithmoonhangover]

I was at my son's wedding, so haven't seen the fight. Someone at breakfast this morning said Joshua's feet were slipping on the canvas, is that true?

He slipped once, the rest of the time, he was being punched to the canvas.

Cool. I just wondered if Fwank was up to his old tricks.