Promoter Eddie Hearn blames Anthony Joshua’s 5th-round KO defeat on Saturday night on the first round knockdown he suffered against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
According to Hearn, Joshua (28-4, 23 KOs) never recovered from that knockdown in round one and was easy pickings for Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), who was like a shark that smelled blood in the water.
Joshua’s punch resistance was entirely gone after the first round, and he was subsequently dropped three more times by Dubois before the contest was waived off in round five when he could no longer get up.
AJ tried to get back to his feet after being knocked down by a right-hand counter by Dubous in the fifth, but he couldn’t rise in time to beat the count from the referee.
The way the fight was playing out, Joshua would have had problems even if he hadn’t been hurt in the first round because he was getting hit too much by Dubois.
AJ’s defense wasn’t there, and he couldn’t land his right hand was any consistency to hurt Dubois the way he’d done with his four previous opponents.
Ade Oladipo: “Eddie, I know you’re obviously very disappointed. It turned into a firefight. A lot of people said this could be a Hagler-Hearns type of fight, and when you fight like that, you just never know. Both of them were throwing heavy shots. One of them was going to land, and unfortunately for your man, it was Daniel that landed more.”
Eddie Hearn: “Well, it was the fourth round. It was a huge right hand that AJ took in the first round [from Dubois]and after that, he was fighting on heart and desire. I’m so proud of him because he never gave up. His legs were disappointing him and he just kept on trying.
“At the end of the fourth round, he hurt Dubois, and in the fifth round, he really hurt Daniel Dubois. Then he got greedy and walked straight onto a right hand, and that’s all she wrote. When you’re in there with a massive puncher, this is what can happen.
“AJ never gave up. He never stopped trying to get up, even when he couldn’t get up [in round five]. I think massive congratulations to Daniel Dubois because people doubted him. He was the champion, but really the B-side coming into the fight. He deserves credit now as a real world champion because that was a great performance.
“If we’re going to lose, losing to a British heavyweight makes it feel better. So congratulations to him, but really proud of Anthony Joshua, who never gave up,” said Hearn.
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