Saturday night in Wembley Stadium, 98,000 people filled the stands for one of the biggest and most important heavyweight title fights in history.
It lived up to the hype and more. Boxing has a new superstar, and his name is ‘Dynamite’ Daniel Dubois. In front of his hometown crowd at Wembley, Dubois proved that he isn’t an afterthought in the heavyweight division. Before this fight, his IBF title was said to be not worthy, but he proved that he is a legit champion.
With 10 seconds left in the first round, Dubois landed a right hand that put Joshua on the canvas. From that point, Joshua didn’t look the same and didn’t stand a chance. In the fifth round, Dubois went back to the right hand, and this time, he viciously knocked out Joshua. Dubois knocked AJ down four times before the KO.
From the second Joshua lost to Oleksandr Usyk for the second straight time in a row in August 2022, he dreamt of the moment he could build himself back up and headline a huge stadium show. Four dominant wins in a row for Joshua to get back to the top of the heavyweight division. But there was a 27-year-old, hungry, and powerful Dubois to take it all away from AJ. Dubois has been the underdog in his last two unbelievable knockout victories. First, he beat an undefeated Filip Hrgovic in the eighth round by knockout. Then on Saturday, Dubois was +320 on DraftKings Sportsbook and once again proved the doubters wrong.
Few moments go down in history and are remembered for decades, and this is one of those sport-altering moments. Dubois was booed in his hometown, he isn’t a big talker; he is a quiet guy, but when that bell rang, and the fight started he was the opposite.
His nickname is ‘Dynamite’ and that is what he possesses in his hands. Dubois showcased his elite pressure style and never allowed Joshua a moment to breathe. Dubois entered this fight as the underdog and was the guy everyone was expecting to lose but he bet on himself and it paid off in a major way.
Before this fight, everyone was hoping that we finally were on the verge of seeing the two biggest faces of heavyweight boxing throughout the past decade, Tyson Fury, go to battle with Joshua. But things do not always go as planned. If Fury can defeat reigning lineal champion Usyk in December, a potential matchup between Dubois and Fury would not only be a massive fight to crown a new Undisputed Heavyweight champion but to see who the face of UK boxing is once and for all.
Dubois isn’t a one-hit wonder. He is the future of this heavyweight division at only 27 years old.
What’s next for Dubois?
The first option and the most probable one for Dubois is to wait to fight the winner of the Heavyweight title fight between Usyk and Fury in December. As I previously mentioned, a showdown between fellow British superstar Fury would be just as big or even bigger than his fight with Joshua.
If Usyk retains his titles, a rematch against Dubois would also be a huge fight. Usyk knocked out Dubois 13 months ago, but in that short period, Dubois has rebuilt himself and reached a new level. Last time, they fought closer to Usyk in Poland but if they do the rematch in the U.K. it would give an edge to Dubois.
Dubois has been the underdog in his previous two fights, but in the future, go against Dubois at your own risk because he is a warrior and thrives in these situations when doubted. Dubois wasn’t cheered by the fans before the fight but he was facing a fan favorite in AJ. If Dubois would return for another fight in the U.K. against someone not named Fury, he would get a huge hometown welcome.
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