New footage of Anthony Joshua’s fight with Daniel Dubois will leave the 34-year-old regretting a boast he made to his corner.
Joshua was knocked out in the fifth round of Saturday night’s bout at Wembley with Dubois having dominated throughout. He had entered the fight with hopes of joining the ranks of three-time world champions.
However, those hopes were dashed when Dubois caught him with a powerful right hook to the chin, sending him crashing to the canvas, with the referee calling the fight over after Joshua was unable to recover. Joshua had been sent crashing down three times before, once in the third round and twice in the fourth.
READ MORE: Anthony Joshua addresses retirement claims after he’s stopped by Daniel Dubois
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That forced trainer Ben Davison to launch into crisis-management mode, provoking a comment from Joshua that he will live to regret, reports the Mirror. Prior to the beginning of the fifth round, Davison was heard speaking to Joshua in his corner saying: “We get through them [these moments]. “This is what it’s about. We get through them. F***ing warrior spirit, but we’ve got to be smart.”
After receiving those instructions from his team, Joshua replied: “Roll the dice, innit?”, adding: “At the start of this round he’ll come out fast.” Davison responded: “Yeah, so be ready. Slip and bring it up, he’ll step in with his jab.”
But after a brief moment of silence, Joshua ended the conversation with possibly the worst comment he could make given how the fight ended. “He’s s***,” Joshua was caught saying on the microphones near his corner.
That analysis proved to be a blunder, though, with Joshua now facing up to the reality of another loss. His future in the ring is in serious doubt, even though at 34, Joshua has vowed to carry on fighting.
Speaking after the bout, Joshua said: “We came up short as a team. You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring but I’m going to keep it respectful. Before I came here, I always say to myself I’m a fighter for life. You keep rolling the dice. I had a fast and sharp opponent, a lot of mistakes from my end.
(Image: PA)
He added: “We walk the walk come out with our head held high. We’re trying to create history for British boxing and think we’re doing that. Of course I want to continue fighting. We took a shot and we came up short. What are we going to do, walk away? We’re going to live another day.”
However, former world champion Carl Froch reckons it’s time for Joshua to throw in the towel and hang up his gloves. Froch said on his YouTube channel: “Anthony Joshua got absolutely battered from pillar to post. He lacked ambition, he lacked self-belief and confidence.
“His powers of recovery are terrible, he looked exhausted. I question Anthony Joshua’s desire to be in that boxing ring anymore. I don’t think AJ wants it anymore, he shouldn’t be boxing. That performance was weak. What next for AJ? I don’t even know. This could be see the last we see of Anthony Joshua. I just can’t see a future for Anthony Joshua.”