By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Daniel Dubois pulled off the biggest win of his professional boxing career after knocking out former unified world heavyweight king Anthony Joshua on September 22, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom.
With the win, Dubois successfully defended his International Boxing Federation (IBF) world heavyweight championship belt and racked his third consecutive victory.
Dubois immediately let Joshua feel his power in the opening round, connecting on his signature right-hand hooks that landed at will.
Despite the tight guard that Joshua deployed midway through the opener, Dubois was still able to pile up the points after dictating the pace with his flick jabs.
With only 10 seconds remaining in the first frame, Dubois scored the first knockdown of the fight after landing a vicious right hand. Fortunately for Joshua, he was able to stand his ground and beat the official match bell.
It was all Dubois in the second as the bruising pressure fighter continued to hound Joshua with his speed and jab accuracy, taking over the tempo with only 1:25 remaining in the round.
Just when Dubois thought he already figured Joshua out, the experienced slugger finally showed some signs of life, hitting the latter with soft left jabs, connecting on a 1-2 combination to head to the third with a little momentum on his side.
Dubois and his camp were quick to counter with a rolling shoulder defensive tactic in the third, helping them retake the lead and control the hitting distance with a barrage of jabs.
Unlike the closing seconds of the second where Joshua came out firing, the third period became a flat performance as he allowed Dubois to capitalize on his strength advantage.
All hell broke loose in the fifth round as both fighters finally took center stage and exchanged heavy blows but Dubois had his biggest moment in the 2:03 mark.
As Joshua initiated a heated exchange, Dubois found the perfect opening when he struck a well-timed right straight counter.
Everyone then stood to their feet as they witnessed a grimacing Joshua, down in the canvas, begging for help and grasping for air.
After six counts, the match referee then officially ruled the bout off when Joshua stayed on the floor for a long time.
