"I am a fighter"

Joshua suffers crushing knockout defeat

Anthony Joshua went down against Daniel Dubois.(Bild: PA Wire)

Former boxing world champion Anthony Joshua has missed out on a return to the world heavyweight title with a spectacular knockout defeat. The 34-year-old went down to defeat in front of 96,000 spectators at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday against his British compatriot Daniel Dubois.

The IBF world champion won by knockout in the fifth round after he had already sent Joshua to the ring floor several times.

(Bild: AP/PA Wire)

"I'm a fighter for life"
A win would have given Joshua his third heavyweight crown, but instead he suffered his fourth defeat in his 32nd professional fight. "I'm a fighter for life," said Joshua. "Today I rolled the dice and lost, but I'll roll them again. I had a fast, strong opponent and I also made mistakes in the fight."

(Bild: AP/PA Wire)

In the very first round, Dubois went on the offensive, landing heavy shots and sending Joshua to the ground. This was repeated in rounds three and four, and in the fifth Joshua seemed to be on the advance. He landed two hard right fists and Dubois was staggered. Joshua now became more open, looking for the decisive punch - and then conceded it himself with a counter right hook from Dubois.

Joshua had been fighting to return to the top since losing the WBA, WBO and IBF belts to Alexander Usyk in 2021. He had previously lost his titles to Andy Ruiz jr. in 2019 in a complete surprise, but regained them in the same year.

Daniel Dubois celebrates.(Bild: APA/AFP)

Dubois confirms his status
Meanwhile, Dubois confirmed his status as IBF champion with his 22nd win in 24 fights. The 27-year-old was upgraded to regular world champion in the summer after the previously undisputed world champion Usyk relinquished the title in order to fight a major rematch against Tyson Fury at the end of the year. Dubois had previously won the IBF interim title in June with a victory over Croatian Filip Hrgovic.