The immediate reaction among many was to refer to Daniel Dubois' fifth-round knockout of former unified champion Anthony Joshua Saturday before an enthusiastic and loud crowd of 96,000 in London as the heavyweight version of the 1985 middleweight classic between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.
That's a bit over the top, considering that Hagler-Hearns is one of the great boxing matches in history and the skill level in the three rounds of that bout far exceeded anything we saw Saturday at Wembley. Even more, Hagler-Hearns had back-and-forth action until Hagler imposed his will, but this heavyweight bout was all Dubois.
He retained his IBF heavyweight championship with a brilliant performance, dropping Joshua four times and knocking him out at 59 seconds of the fifth round.
It was a wildly entertaining heavyweight fight, and that's what boxing needed. It doesn't need to be compared to other bouts because it can stand on its own as a fun and memorable battle.
Dubois dropped Joshua in the first, third, fourth and fifth. He had to battle the apparently biased work of referee Marcus McDonnell, who warned him twice in the first for using his head when all he was doing was trying to break free of Joshua holding him after being hurt.
Dubois' knockout punch came as he was somewhat hurt and, for the first time in the bout, possibly in trouble. Joshua, sensing his moment, pursued Dubois into a corner. He went to throw a right hand, but Dubois threw at the same time. Dubois' right was straight and got to its target a hair quicker than Joshua's.
Joshua went down in a heap and McDonnell counted Joshua out.
"I’m a gladiator," Dubois said in the ring. “I’m just a warrior to the end, until the bitter end. I’m just ready to go. I want to go to the top level of this game and reach my potential."
The fight figured to be entertaining because both were massive -- Joshua is 6-6 and weighed 252, while Dubois is 6-5 and weighed 248 -- and can punch. Best of all, neither was known for having a great chin.
Joshua's chin betrayed him again and for the second time in his career, it cost him a heavyweight championship. He was knocked out by Andy Ruiz in New York on June 1, 2019, when he was the unified champion and heavily favored. He hurt Ruiz that night but Ruiz fought back and stopped him.
This time, Dubois didn't give Joshua much of a chance. He started throwing bombs early as the pro-Joshua crowd seemed aghast. Dubois was landing regularly and would have won the first round on the cards even if he hadn't dropped Joshua in the round's waning seconds.
Joshua was able to beat the count then, but the message had been delivered: Dubois was neither intimidated, nor there for just a payday.
Joshua was never able to totally regain his equilibrium after the first knockdown.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom
Daniel Dubois (R) lands the right hand that ended Anthony Joshua's night.
“I had a strong and sharp opponent and a fast opponent," Joshua said. “Secondly, there were a lot of mistakes from my end. But that’s the game. As pissed off as I am, it is what it is."
Joshua had two previous reigns as heavyweight champion and with a win, would have become just the fourth heavyweight to have three separate reigns as champion, joining Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
Dubois, though, who won for the third consecutive time since getting stopped by unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in the ninth round on Aug. 26, 2023, in Wroclaw, Poland, fought a poised and intelligent fight. He never got wild and started going for the three-run homer when he had Joshua hurt and just worked within his system to break Joshua down.
He was confident in his skillset, and though his chin hadn't always been the sturdiest, fought with a self-belief that Joshua did not display. Since losing to Usyk, Dubois has defeate Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and now Joshua, and has looked increasingly better each time out.
“Just behind the scenes, the work with my Dad [Dave Dubois], all my family and my strong team," Dubois said of his what led to his turnaround. "They’ve helped me get through this. I’ve just been on a roller-coaster ride and this is my time. It’s my redemption story. I’m not going to stop until I reach my potential."
The win over Joshua sets up either a rematch, in which Dubois would be paid handsomely, a rematch with Usyk should he defeat Tyson Fury on Dec. 21 in their bout or a match with Fury if Fury should win. Either win, Dubois now has plenty of options and plenty of heavyweights gunning for him.
He's far from invincible, but he's 27, can punch and seems to be getting better.
That makes one think we're going to hear plenty about him in the not-too-distant future.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom
Anthony Joshua is dazed after being knocked down late in the third round Saturday.