Daniel Dubois knocks out Anthony Joshua to claim shock victory and remain IBF world heavyweight champion

A major upset saw Anthony Joshua miss out on the chance to become three-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday night, as he was knocked out by British rival Daniel Dubois in the fifth round.

A major upset saw Anthony Joshua miss out on the chance to become three-time world heavyweight champion on Saturday night, as he was knocked out by British rival Daniel Dubois in the fifth round. Having dominated in the opening four rounds, Dubois completed the defense of his IBF heavyweight belt with a devastating overhand right to Joshua’s chin 59 seconds into the fifth in front of a record crowd of 96,000 at Wembley Stadium in London. The result comes as a huge shock, with Joshua entering the fight in good form having won his last four fights, including taking out Francis Ngannou with a spectacular second-round knockout in March. Having likely expected to finish Saturday as world heavyweight champion – which would have put him in the perfect position to fight the winner of December’s Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk rematch and potentially become the undisputed champion of the division – Joshua is now suddenly scrambling to bounce back. The 34-year-old – who has now been defeated four times in 32 fights – has a rematch clause, which his promoter Eddie Hearn expects him to exercise. There is also the chance he will fight the loser of Fury and Usyk. “Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after the bout. “We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”