Daniel Dubois is second-best heavyweight in the world – but savage dismantling of Joshua could mean even Usyk would struggle in a rematch

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Daniel Dubois can make a strong claim to being at least the second-best heavyweight on the planet after his epic dismantling of Anthony Joshua at Wembley on Saturday night.

And when you look at the confidence he has gained from knocking out Joshua to retain his IBF world title – coupled with stoppage victories over Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller – a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk would be no foregone conclusion.

The way is which Dubois dealt with Joshua, wrecking his hopes of becoming a three-time world champion, was hugely impressive.

Joshua had lost before – twice to Uysk and also to Andy Ruiz Jr – but this was the most one-sided beating of his career.

Dubois – nicknamed Dynamite – was aggressive from the off and his opponent was unable to defuse – or more importantly evade – the succession of destructive bombs heading his way.

A sweeping right hand dropped Joshua towards the end of the first round. After that it just seemed a question of when – not if – he walked on to more punches that would further scramble his senses.

The Watford challenger was knocked down in the third and fourth before an emphatic ending in the fifth.

Joshua looked to have buzzed Dubois but as he tried to take out the South Londoner, who had retreated into his corner, he walked on to a right hand that dropped him face first to the canvas. Good night. In fact it was a great night for Dubois. For Joshua? Dreadful and damaging.

It says much about Joshua’s pulling power and profile as British boxing’s poster boy that most of the immediate reaction in the aftermath focused on picking apart his performance.

It also tells you plenty that Dubois – despite being the belt-holder – entered the ring first. Normally it would be the champion who makes his entrance second.

Not that any of that seemed to matter to the Greenwich fighter.

His ring attire – black shorts and black boots – gave off Mike Tyson vibes. And the way in which Dubois went straight after Joshua was the kind of approach employed by a peak Tyson on his fast-track to the world titles.

“I feel great – we did what we came to do,” said Dubois, whose record is 22-2 (21 KOs). “I thank God, I thank my family and I thank my father for getting me to this point.

“I’m just glad that I did it.

“I wasn’t going to be denied tonight – by any means necessary.

“They (the doubters) were all saying I was going to get knocked out – but I did the business.

“This is the start of my journey.

“I want to get my rematch (against Usyk) and put the wrong right.

“The Lord had my back tonight and I had my family behind me – he could’ve thrown anything at me and I would have come through it. They kept me grounded.

“Tonight just felt like a dream in there. I just had to seize the moment. I was cool, calm and collected.”

Promoter Frank Warren signed Dubois and has worked with him ever since he turned professional.

And the experienced fight figure firmly stuck with Dubois after losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk – the latter tinged with at least some controversy when the unbeaten Ukrainian went down from a body punch deemed low by the referee but disputed by the Brit’s camp.

Usyk is locked into a rematch with Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 21.

“Let’s see the outcome of that fight – I believe Tyson will win it,” said Warren. “But the fight I would love to see Daniel lacing them up for again is Usyk – because I believe he should’ve won that fight and that it wasn’t a low blow. He has shown what he is all about.

“We live in the moment and this man went in as a big underdog according to a lot of people, most had written him off from day one for this fight. But I felt it was a winnable fight for him – he went out with a game plan of putting him on the back foot. I said that whoever went on the back foot was going to get beaten. He stamped his authority from the first round.”

PICTURES: MARK ROBINSON/MATCHROOM