Dubois destroys Joshua in five devastating rounds.

Anthony Joshua tumbled onto the canvas in the fifth round, his world turned upside down by Daniel Dubois and his effortless power, compounding a nightmare evening to leave him with a critical decision.

- JACK RATHBORN

The ramifications of this dramatic night in London remain unknown, but Joshua’s future is more uncertain and compelling than ever before.

Yes, he’s been hurt and taken out before, by Andy Ruiz no less in another seismic shock in 2019, he was outclassed even, twice by Oleksandr Usyk. But never before dominated within a few seconds of the first bell until a comprehensive and painful conclusion. A beating dished out by the champion no less.

And that is worth emphasising, as so many scoffed and forgot about that status, the man with the belt walking first on the night. Dubois was elevated without a punch thrown in anger inside the ring, yet a hungry Dubois seized his moment to validate his position, defending his heavyweight title over five lopsided rounds before delivering one of the most crushing counters in the heavyweight division’s history.

Everybody knew Dubois was heavyhanded, yet Joshua was rattled within 30 seconds, as Dubois rushed in, launching a series of reckless shots that only glanced his opponent. Confidence was solidified though, and he finally connected with a crunching shot, brushing Joshua’s chin to drop him. A hushed silence set in at Wembley Stadium and its British-record 96,000 crowd awaited a stunning upset.

The one-sided contest continued into the second and third rounds, with a nasty left hook to Joshua sparking yet more chaos as the favourite crumpled. Pressed into the ropes, Dubois unloaded more shots to force another count.

But Joshua, now 28-4 as a professional, is nothing but resilient and with every second that passed on his feet, doubt started to creep in about the outcome.