‘Dynamite’ Daniel Dubois smashes his way into the heavyweight world title scene Premium

Anthony Joshua's shocking loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium raises questions about his future in boxing.

It was supposed to be just another milestone in Anthony Joshua’s comeback journey. Since suffering a devastating knockout at the hands of journeyman Andy Ruiz in 2019, Joshua has been on a mission to reclaim lost glory.

Save for twin losses to the far superior Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua had made small, meaningful strides towards re-establishing himself as a top heavyweight boxer.

At a packed Wembley Stadium last month, Daniel Dubois stood between Joshua and the chance to become a three-time heavyweight world champion. Joshua, the more experienced and celebrated fighter, was expected to seal the deal.

But from the very first round, the script went awry. A massive overhand right by Dubois dropped Joshua to the canvas — a shock blow that Joshua never recovered from. Joshua fell to the floor three more times, before the end came in the fifth round with a clean short right from Dubois.

Joshua, with his face on the mat, attempted to will his way to his feet, but failed to beat the count. It was a sad sight — a once formidable fan favourite reduced to a wobbly mess.

At 34, Joshua’s path to redemption is riddled with potholes. To rebuild, he must once again start from scratch by taking on lesser opponents. There are already loud calls for Joshua to hang up the gloves.

Like most professional sportspersons, Joshua has a big ego. This sense of pride, bordering on delusional self-belief, has prompted him to carry on. He dismissed all talk of retirement in a video he posted on Instagram after the loss. “We came up short, but we need to look at all the positives… What a roller-coaster journey. But you know what the problem is? Is that it’s far from over yet,” Joshua stated.