Daniel Dubois destroys Anthony Joshua via fifth-round knockout to retain heavyweight title

Anthony Joshua | Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Daniel Dubois left no doubt that he deserves to be called champion.

The IBF heavyweight titleholder successfully defended his belt with a one-sided demolition of Anthony Joshua on Saturday, needing a little more than five rounds to flatten Joshua with a knockout flurry after threatening with knockdowns earlier in the fight.

“Are you not entertained?” Dubois said in his post-fight interview, riling up a sold-out Wembley Stadium in London.

Dubois came out throwing power punches from the opening bell and his efforts paid off early as he dropped Joshua with an overhand right at the end of Round 1. Joshua answered the count, but it was all downhill for him from there as he never came close to closing the gap.

Round 2 started with Dubois in hot pursuit, which quickly put Joshua into survival mode. Dubois was unfazed by Joshua’s jabs and he continued to pressure Joshua, looking for the finish. That almost came at the end of Round 3 as Joshua was again dropped before the bell, only to eke out a few more minutes of action.

Joshua was slipping and sliding all over the ring with Dubois bearing down on him and though he put on a spirited performance, smiling and sticking his tongue out with Dubois punching away, it was obvious that the end was near. And the end indeed came 59 seconds into the fifth with Dubois landing a counter right that crumbled Joshua, leaving him on his hands and knees unable to answer referee Marcus McDonnell’s count.

With the win, Dubois retained his undisputed IBF heavyweight championship. The English slugger held an interim belt that was elevated to undisputed status when previous champion Oleksandr Usyk relinquished his share of the title. Usyk is scheduled to rematch Tyson Fury on Dec. 21 after previously defeating Fury this past May.