“Like all British fight writers when they are relieved of the duty of watching British fighters, he was in a holiday mood…” A.J. Liebling, The Sweet Science.
The phrase used to be “horizontal British heavyweight” referring to the ill-fated attempts at the heavyweight crown by the likes of Don Cockell, Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner, Frank Bruno and Brian London. They all tried, they all lost.
Don’t spill your tea over this but the late Mr. Liebling and Peter Wilson, the British boxing writer he was talking about, would both be as stunned as Anthony Joshua was Saturday to see how England, of all places, has taken the Sweet Science to new fistic heights and perhaps given the sport a rebirth.
Imagine drawing 96,000 fans to a famed soccer pitch for a boxing match? That’s exactly what happened Saturday night. With plans for more big-time fights in the future. Heavyweight boxing is in exactly the kind of mess we need. Really!
First of all, to set the record straight, England did finally have a claim to the world heavyweight crown thanks to the great Lennox Lewis, who won the crown from Evander Holyfield and went on to amass an impressive 41-2-1 lifetime mark. retiring in 2004.
Then things started happening across the pond. England’s first boxing salvo came in 2015 when 6-foot-9 giant Tyson Fury came out of nowhere to win the heavyweight title from Ukranian Wladmir Klitschko. After winning the title, Fury then disappeared for a bit due to outside-the-ring issues (substance abuse, depression, etc.)
In the meantime, England’s Anthony Joshua, who had won the Olympic Gold medal in the 2012 Olympics, turned pro and established himself as one of the world’s best, winning a share of the vacated title, then unifying it. Along the way, the handsome, articulate, humble champ, “AJ” became a beloved figure in England. He captured two of the vacated titles and England, starved for a heavyweight hero, capitulated.
But a heavily tattooed, wild-eyed southpaw cruiserweight fighter from Ukraine, Oleksandr Usyk — his name is as hard to spell as he is to fight — moved up in weight and decided to challenge Joshua and defeated him twice, the last time via a controversial split-decision. So Joshua needed to find a way to get back to the top.
While that was going on, another bruising black British heavyweight appeared on the scene, Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois who surged into the ranks of top contenders. He put on a fearsome battle with Usyk, had him on the deck but ended up losing by a late KO. Later on, a Usyk low blow, unintentional or not, was later attributed as a key factor in the loss. And since on June 26, Usyk decided to vacate the IBF (International Boxing Federation) share of the heavyweight title, declining to defend it when the IBF demanded, the organization awarded the title to Dubois.
And to add to all this title confusion, controversy and chaos, Fury, recognized by most fans as the “genuine” or “lineal” champion (meaning he won the title from the previous title holder and had not lost it in the ring) went ahead and lost it in the ring, his first professional defeat, to Usyk.
His split-decision loss to the pride of Ukraine threw the whole division into chaos. Usyk who now hold two-thirds of the heavyweight title, agreed to a rematch with Fury on December 21. So what happens in that fight will certainly dictate where Joshua, Dubois and perhaps Usyk and Fury go from there.
And you have to love Usyk, who looks like a James Bond villain. He doesn’t fight for the money, he said, “but for the glory.”
Considering Fury is 36, Usyk 37, Joshua 34 and Saturday’s winner Dubois only 27, if these guys want to get in a few more major paydays, they’d better get with it. And they all want to! So there is more reason to be interested in heavyweight boxing since the days of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield and maybe a better set of competitive heavyweight fights than we’ve seen in years. And now… the Main Event!
ANTHONY JOSHUA vs. DANIEL DUBOIS
Their ring entrances were, as is the custom these days, absolutely spectacular, fireworks, flashing lights, razzle, dazzle, pomp, circumstance and excitement.
The 6-5, 248-pound Dubois stalked into the ring with a shiny “DDD” black silk shirt draped over a thunderous pair of shoulders, had a dutiful second walking behind him, displaying the IBF Championship belt.
The 6-foot-6, 252-pound Joshua stalked in wearing a classy white bathrobe with glittery sparkles on the shoulders, listening to the music from “The Godfather” blended into a echoey rap, a determined look on his face. Once Joshua stepped into the ring, the crowd let out the kind of roar you’d never expect in England for anything other than a soccer goal or maybe the Queen slipping on a piece of ice.
Oddly, the champion was introduced first, ring announcer Michael Buffer told us Dubois had amassed a record of 21-2 with 20 KO’s and was the reigning IBF champion. Some cheers, quite a few boos.
Joshua, a perfect heavyweight specimen with a record of 28-3 with 25 KOs, took off his robe as he was announced and the crowd let out a cheer that must have rattled the chandeliers at Buckingham Palace. The announcers, having to holler to be heard, told us 83% of the viewers expected Joshua to win.
ROUND ONE: Dubois, hands held high extending from shoulders that looked like a hard brown wall, was immediately the aggressor, Joshua extending a tentative left jab, It looked like he wanted to box, Dubois wanting to take his head off. Dubois was twice warned about using his tightly shaved head too aggressively in the clinches. Then, just before the bell, after each had missed a wild swing, a looping right from Dubois from long range caught Joshua on the chin and he went down. Knockdown One! Wow!
ROUND TWO: Joshua landed a good jab and a right hand — Dubois had some Vaseline on his right eyebrow — before Dubois waded in, throwing both hands, sending Joshua to the ropes. He simply looked too strong. Another lunging Dubois hook caught Joshua in mid-round and he seemed unable to back Dubois up. Joshua looked puzzled. How could he hurt him? It seemed the only thing to do would be to box and move but Dubois always closed the gap so quickly, Joshua could only try to fight back. He went to his corner with a frown on his face.
ROUND THREE: Realizing he had to change his tactics, Joshua tried to work a jab and did, keeping a better distance between him and Dubois. It was a better round and he even tried a couple of the wild lunging swings that Dubois did, but he didn’t connect. Near the end of the round, Joshua threw a careless right and Dubois countered perfectly with a left hook that sent Joshua wobbling on his right ankle into the ropes. Dubois pounded him with left and rights and at the bell, Joshua fell to the canvas again. He took the standing eight count in his corner. Knockdown No. 2
ROUND FOUR: As the round began, Dubois tried to swing at him, Joshua seemed to slip or trip and fell to the canvas. It didn’t look like he was hit but nonetheless the count started. Knockdown Three (but it was really a slip). He was given a standing eight, looked disgusted with himself, standing in the corner, then when the fight resumed, he took a wild swing at Dubois, who took a wild swing back and, Joshua’s legs still unsteady, he went down again. Knockdown Four, maybe. The referee waved his arms as if signaling the end of the fight! But instead, he ruled it a slip, wiped Joshua’s gloves and to everyone’s surprise, let them continue. Wisely, perhaps, Joshua tried to clinch his way out of the round. He did land one sucker punch of an uppercut, even stuck out his tongue a couple times as the round wore down. But his legs were gone and he was losing, big-time.
ROUND FIVE: Joshua came out aggressively, his legs finally under him, it seemed, as the round started. And a few seconds in, he landed a crackling right hand — easily his best punch of the fight and Dubois sagged! The crowd erupted and Joshua quickly went on the attack, throwing right hands, landing a couple, backing Dubois into a neutral corner as they traded right hands. He went to throw a third right hand but Dubois struck first with a shorter counter right hand, catching Joshua perfectly. He flowed down, in the old phase, like flour down a chute and was counted out, struggling to his knees as the referee counted him out. If you’d ever seen the Rocky Marciano-Jersey Joe Walcott knockout in their first fight — they each started right hands and Rocky’s got there first — it was a 2024 version.
POSTFIGHT: Customarily, post-fight press conferences offer each side a chance for gripes, and whining and excuses. But the Brits had none of that, speaking openly and complimentarily about either side with the kind of class, dignity and reverence for the sport and its rich, if sometimes controversial history that would have warmed your heart. It was something to see, certainly, a far cry from Mike Tyson’s handler calling Holyfield “a whiny little bitch” after Tyson had taken a chomp out of each ear in their memorable, infamous bite fest in Las Vegas, maybe the lowest moment in the history of the sport.
Where will this take us? It’s hard to say. If 96,000 fans can pack Wembley Stadium, the largest crowd ever in the history of the stadium, maybe we’re in for a few more big-time fights like the Joshua-Dubois slug fest.
This fight was one-sided, for sure. But watching and listening to each fighter’s lust for battle — and glory, it seems — can only mean we have some more good fights to look forward to, even if they might happen across the pond.
For long-suffering, down-hearted boxing fans in the USA, that might be the best news of all.
HERE’S THE ANTHONY JOSHUA - DANIEL DUBOIS FIGHT!
HERE’S POSTFIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE