Oleksandr Usyk pinpointed Anthony Joshua’s faulty footwork as the major reason for his stunning defeat by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
Dubois dropped his compatriot to the canvas in the opening round with a stinging right, the referee delivering a standing eight count, and the 27-year-old proceeded to tear up the pre-fight predictions as swiftly as he ripped into his opponent.
Joshua, 34, took another hammering in round two but managed to ride out the storm before round three came crashing down around him again. With Dubois landing more fizzing right-handers, Joshua was literally on the ropes before being saved by the bell.
He could barely stand at the end of the fourth, after going down again with two minutes remaining, and then it was all over in the fifth with the painstaking rebuilding of his career suddenly in ruins.
After landing a few promising blows, any signs of a fightback faded with a right to the chin that sent Joshua down, the former IBF, WBA and IBO champion this time unable to get back on his feet.
“I’m not shocked because this is boxing. Daniel Dubois today was better,” Oleksandr Usyk told Boxing King Media, having watched on ringside. “Anthony had one problem. Because this position [leans back with feet planted], it’s dangerous. If you want to, you step back like this [takes one foot back], not like this [repeats lean] because this is dangerous. We saw.”
Joshua tried to take the fight to Dubois but walked on to several heavy punches.
“The footwork was the issue, the mentality was the issue,” said promoter Alex Krassyuk. “I thought I was seeing a man with the face of AJ, but it was completely different inside.
“He didn’t look the way we expected him to look. Did you see his right hand? It was all the way on his chest. So, his chin was up. It was like a fairy tale for any boxer, not just for Dubois.”
Usyk has not stepped in the ring since he beat Tyson Fury in a split decision in Riyadh in May to become the first unified heavyweight champion for two decades. The pair will rematch on 21 December.
“When I win a second time with Tyson Fury, I don’t know what’s next. I want to rest with my family, my children. I want to go to a mountain and go skiing.”
Asked whether he and Fury exchanged any words at Wembley, Usyk replied with a grin: “A little bit – ‘how are you? Blah blah blah. Hi! My friend! Hello!’. He’s my greedy belly friend. He’s like my brother!”