A little over a week on, the dust has finally settled from the drama that unfolded in the heavyweight division on the stacked Wembley Stadium card in London, England.
The IBF heavyweight title fight resulted in Britain’s Daniel ‘Dynamite’ Dubois spectacularly retaining his title via a five-round demolition of fellow Londoner Anthony Joshua.
Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) should continue to take all the praise, given where he’d come from with two earlier defeats and, he was a heavy betting underdog going in. The 27 year old from Greenwich, south London, came out from the opening bell full of confidence and intent and, after scoring a first knockdown of his opponent at the end of the opening round, never looked back. He ‘bossed’ his, ’til then more illustrious foe, from start to finish.
With exception of a temporary recovery from Joshua through rounds two to the eventual stoppage, Dubois was clearly the better man on the night. The counter right that finished the contest was one to behold and ranks as one of the more emphatic stoppages of recent times.
On the flip side, such was the nature of Dubois’ victory, scoring four knockdowns in the process, that media and fans questioned the point of a continuation of Joshua’s career in his attempt to gain another version of the ‘world’ heavyweight title for a third time.
This could see him join an elite historical fistic group, if he’s eventually successful.
More challenging for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) will be to rise from the heavyweight mix before contesting a belt again. In his credit he has wins over top ten ranked fighters (Joseph Parker, Andy Ruiz and Dillian Whyte) but his confidence and punch resistance in particular will need a serious re-build.
‘Hot on his heels’ are also rising British-based heavyweights Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) and 19-year old Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs). Plus, a plethora of other worthy world contenders.
The immediate future of the heavyweight division will be put on hold until 21 December. Being determined in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia when Ring Magazine champion and undoubted number one Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) faces former WBC champion Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) for a second time. The latter will be motivated by the rematch opportunity, but was soundly beaten, albeit on points, in the first encounter. Watch this space for future updates on the build-up to this and the eventual outcome.
An interesting end to the year awaits !
The Undisputed 