Daniel Dubois celebrates with his team after defeating Anthony Joshua in front of a record crowd. Photo by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing. Daniel Dubois celebrates his victory with his team.
With a star-studded evening at the home of English sport the Riyadh Season arrived in London.
The glamor that graced many shows in Riyadh and last month in Los Angeles has arrived at Wembley Stadium.
Thousands packed Trafalgar Square for the weigh-ins and on Saturday evening a huge crowd of 98,128 packed the storied venue (has anyone seen Carl Froch, ha ha) to witness a six-fight card featuring the headliners themselves (more on that. later) before two British heavyweights took the main stage.
When it comes to the fight for the IBF heavyweight title, few have given Daniel Dubois much of a chance to beat Anthony Joshua. The defending champion was priced at 11/4 (+275) and in the Fight Picks I drew for The Ring, only one (slut in Duke McKenzie) of the 20 experts picked DDD.
There were rumors of their marriage a few years ago. As always, those old gym legends were all over the place, with some suggesting that AJ was the mastermind, and others saying that Dubois had acquitted himself so well that he dumped Joshua as well. But as they say sparring is sparring, it’s very different where they actually go.
Dubois came in first and looked a little scared, Joshua came in like he was at home, relaxed about what was going to happen.
There was a negative point, Dubois was sharp from the get go and leading with his pin, while Joshua was perhaps too confident and looked too loose, his guard down and easy to hit. In the final seconds of the opening round a big overhand caught Joshua and knocked him down. Joshua rose to his feet and the bell went off before more punches were thrown.
Dubois takes it to Joshua. Photo by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
A minute’s rest was not enough, and Dubois threw first in Round 2. When Joshua came in and got a bunch of sticks from the mill, something that cannot be criticized for his heart, he showed it with a spy on Saturday. Despite being caught repeatedly and with loose legs, he managed to stay upright.
In the final seconds of the third round, that changed when Dubois threw a left hook that AJ didn’t see, the famous Brit’s legs did a dance and Dubois jumped again. Joshua put both gloves on the canvas and the count began but referee Marcus McDonnell was behind both fighters and failed to see the contact and let the action continue. Many punches went unanswered and Joshua sank to the canvas. Again, the bell probably saved him.
When Round 4 started Dubois ran across the ring and scored the third knockdown. The end seemed near. Thankfully Joshua fought to a draw.
In Round 5, Joshua finally landed three big right hands that backed up Dubois but as soon as a miraculous comeback was in sight, Dubois ended the story with a nasty right hand that came just as Joshua was on top. AJ was taken down for the fourth and final time. This time he couldn’t stand on his feet, he was rated 0.59.
IT’S DONE🔥🔥🔥#RiyadhSeasonCard: Wembley Edition#JoshuaDubois | Live NOW by clicking link in bio to shop | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/zZEm2Vufy9
– DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 21, 2024
Dubois landed 79 of 196 punches for a 40.3 percent connection rate. While Joshua came in at 32 out of 117 with a 27.4 percent conversation. The young man’s jab landed 30 out of 100 times, while Joshua landed 18 out of 82 jabs for a 22 percent connection rate.
Joshua (28-4, 25 knockouts) suggested he would like a rematch in a post-fight interview. However, this was one-sided and does not seem to have much of a point. Perhaps Joshua, 34, can work his way back but he has made a fortune, and he wonders if he has the desire to climb the mountain again. He said after that he will do it but time will tell.
Meanwhile, Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), who has enjoyed a year of wins over Jarrell Miller (TKO 10) and Filip Hrgovic (TKO 8), has claimed his biggest scalp to date. He mentioned Ring Magazine joint champion Oleksandr Usyk but they fought over a year ago and I’d like to see him win a fight or two more before looking at that option. A fight with any of the others who impressed in Riyadh Season, namely Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang, Agit Kabayel or, for my money, Martin Bakole would be good.
Tyson Fury, who shares the same promoter as Dubois, did not share the joy with his stablemates.
“That cost me £150 million!” 😅🤣
Tyson Fury’s immediate reaction to AJ getting KO’d 🤑#JoshuaDubois pic.twitter.com/PeraMGLrHD
– Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingantnt) September 22, 2024
The undercard was the most talked about. We saw the public undressing Mark Chamberlain. The lightweight, ranked 9th by The Ring, was highly touted but was well beaten by Josh Padley. It would be a life-changing achievement for Padley, who can expect big things next. Maybe he goes back to his normal 130 and works his way through a lot more attention now or maybe he’ll face Sam Noakes at 135. It’s back to the drawing board for Chamberlain, who was looking stiff at the weight. Maybe you stay at lightweight or test the waters at junior welterweight. Either way the luster is really good and off.
Josh Kelly defeated the late Ismail Davis in a middleweight title fight. It wasn’t a very exciting fight, and we’ll see when we both get back to 154.
Anthony Cacace continued his impressive recent run by outclassing Josh Warrington over 12 rounds. Many are shocked that the IBF did not approve this fight but if they think it is necessary to rank Warrington in their Top 15 that is their right. Cacace, 35, enjoys something of an Indian summer in his career. He has to face the difficult responsibility of Eduardo Nunez next. Although Warrington, who has lost his last three and is now 33, will look like he is not what he used to be. He was an overachiever, who enjoyed a very productive career.
In a light heavyweight bout between two Ring-rated fighters, Buatsi, ranked No. 4, knocked out Hutchinson, ranked No. 9, twice. There was some scoring by officials. One judge inexplicably gave it to Hutchinson, the second here to Buatsi inexplicably, and the third, in my opinion, got it right 115-110, which translated to 7-5 rounds with two rounds of 10-8 knockdowns and a point deduction. Hutchinson is still young and can follow Dubois’ lead and learn and recover from his loss. Buatsi, a 2016 Olympian, has been a professional for seven years. There are rumors that he turned down a fight with WBA manager Dmitry Bivol saying that he was not ready. This fight was for the interim WBO title, so you’d think he’s still a fight or two away if he faces the winner of Bivol-Artur Beterbiev. If he’s not ready now, he won’t be.
Willy Hutchinson and Joshua Buatsi. Photo by Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
Middleweight action Hamzah Sheeraz continued his march to the top of the division by knocking out the usually tough Tyler Denny to add a European title to his growing collection of belts. Sheeraz is good for anyone, and I would put him as the favorite over any middleweight not mentioned Janibek Alimkhanuly.
There are three more Riyadh Season shows scheduled for this year:
Next, on October 12, Riyadh Season returns home to the uncontested light heavyweight championship between Beterbiev and Bivol, which is the best fight in boxing. The vacant title of Ring Magazine will be on the line.
Then it’s Golden Boy’s time to shine on November 16, when they play “Latino night” in Riyadh, where WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez and WBO title holder Chris Billam-Smith headline their combination.
To wrap up the year, Usyk, Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight, and Tyson Fury will repeat it on December 21.
Although certain aspects of the shows are not to everyone’s liking, what cannot be disputed is that we see many of the best fighters in the world fight again and we are on the best stage with the biggest and newest arenas we have seen. in boxing.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him
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