Dubois, who entered the ring as a heavy underdog, wasted no time making his mark. In the first round, he landed a clean right hand that sent Joshua to the canvas. This early knockdown set the tone for the rest of the fight.
Over the next three rounds, Dubois continued to dominate, scoring two more knockdowns. Joshua never fully recovered from the initial blow. The end came in the fifth round when Dubois caught Joshua with another powerful right hand, securing the victory and retaining his IBF world title.
Sky News reported on the details of Dubois' fifth-round victory, highlighting the shocking nature of the upset.
Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis shared his thoughts on the fight with Box Nation. Lewis praised Dubois' performance:
"I was very impressed with the way how he came out into the fight, he was positive he was focused, he was ready, he knew he wanted to go in there and do damage. He said he's the king and he's the king right now, champion. Great fight, really impressed, he did the work, congratulations to the champ."
Lewis also weighed in on the referee's decision to let Joshua continue after the initial knockdown:
"I always say you've got to give the guy a chance and Anthony Joshua got a lot of chances out there but he got hurt really bad with the first punch and never really recovered."
Despite the devastating loss, Lewis doesn't think this spells the end for Joshua's career:
"I don't think it's the end, nobody wants to retire on a loss so he may come back."
Looking ahead, Lewis expressed optimism about Dubois' future prospects, particularly against the winner of the upcoming Fury-Usyk rematch in December:
"I think he fares well [against them], he's positive right now and next goal is to be undisputed champ."
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, confirmed that AJ has a rematch clause in his contract. Joshua will likely activate this clause for his next fight.
The boxing world now turns its attention to the Fury-Usyk rematch in December, with Dubois potentially facing the winner in a bid to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.