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Daniel Dubois Upsets and Defeats Anthony Joshua

By William Dumoulin

Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing

As part of the ongoing Riyadh Season promotion, Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions hosted a mega-event at Wembley Stadium in London, in front of 96,000 fans. This gala marked the much-anticipated return of Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) after two consecutive fights in Saudi Arabia. He faced the current IBF heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), who was coming off a major victory against Filip Hrgovic in his last outing. Here’s a summary of the evening.

In the main event, the fight between the two Britons was as thrilling as expected. However, Dubois shocked everyone by knocking Joshua down four times, finishing the fight with a powerful right hand in the 5th round, securing a KO victory. What comes next will be interesting for the IBF champion, who now establishes himself as one of the top heavyweights in the world.

Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, revealed that a rematch clause was included in the contract, meaning a second bout between the two Britons will have to take place before the winner can consider a potential rematch against the WBC/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk.

In the co-main event of the evening, middleweight prospect Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) had the chance to capture the European middleweight title against fellow Briton Tyler Denny (19-3-3, 1 KO). Sheeraz didn’t have much trouble, securing a TKO victory in the 2nd round.

Joshua Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) faced Willy Hutchinson (18-2, 13 KOs) in a 12-round bout for the WBO interim light heavyweight title. Buatsi managed to secure a split decision victory (115-110, 112-113, 117-108) after knocking his opponent down twice.

After pulling off an upset against Joe Cordina last May, Anthony Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) defended his IBO super featherweight title against former world champion Josh Warrington (31-4-1, 8 KOs). The Irish southpaw had little trouble in this bout, winning by unanimous decision (117-111 X 2, 118-110). It seems retirement is looming for the Leeds native, as he placed his gloves in the center of the ring after the defeat, likely signaling his last career fight.

Other results of the evening:

• Josh Kelly (16-1-1, 8 KOs) defeated Ishmael Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) by majority decision (115-114, 115-113, 114-114).
• Mark Chamberlain (16-1, 12 KOs) was upset by Josh Padley (15-0, 4 KOs), losing by unanimous decision (96-92 X 2, 95-93).