Billed as Anthony Joshua’s (British professional boxer) next stop on a comeback tour, a record Wembley Stadium (Wembley, England, UK) crowd of 98,128 were left stunned as Daniel Dubois (British professional boxer) confirmed his credentials on the world heavyweight stage by dismantling the former two-time world champion.
‘ARAB NEWS’ stated that looming over the Wembley Edition of this Riyadh Season was the specter of Tyson Fury (British professional boxer) who took a seat for the first of the undercards, the camera repeatedly cutting to him amid great applause from the gathering crowd.
The 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium (sometimes referred to as The New Wembley and branded as the Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is an association football stadium in Wembley, London (UK). It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium which had stood from 1923 until 2003.
The Riyadh Season is a series of entertainment, cultural and sporting events held in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. The event was introduced in 2019 by the General Entertainment Authority as part of the larger Saudi Seasons initiative in support of Saudi Vision 2030.
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the General Entertainment Authority, formerly the General Authority for Entertainment, is a Government Department in Saudi Arabia that regulates the entertainment industry of the country.
The Saudi Seasons is a series of festivals and events that take place throughout the year in Saudi Arabia to celebrate the country’s culture and heritage and promote tourism. The festivals feature a variety of activities and events, including music, sports and culture.
The Saudi Vision 2030 is a Government program launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally in line with the vision of the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
‘ARAB NEWS’ further stated that Fury’s presence added only further fuel to the fiery demand for a long sought-after Joshua-Fury bout which would bring the two biggest names in British boxing of the past decade together but Joshua first had to get past the International Boxing Federation (IBF – a body which sanctions professional boxing bouts and is based in Springfield, US) Heavyweight Champion Dubois.
It may have been Dubois’ belt at the start of the night but Joshua entered to a medley beginning with ‘The Godfather’ theme before Jay-Z’s (American rapper) ‘Public Service Announcement’. With the song’s line “allow me to reintroduce myself”, here was the main man.
Certainly, the crowd – pumped by a three-song Oasis set from the frontman of the newly reformed band, Liam Gallagher (English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the rock band Oasis) – and the experts concurred with that assessment.
Dubois’ opening volley, however, suggested that he was unfazed by his underdog status.
And it was not long before he connected with a thunderous, and likely decisive, overhand right, putting Joshua to the floor for the first of what would be four times over the course of the bout leaving the bumper crowd in shock.
Dubois carried the momentum into the second, and that overhand right seemed to hang over Joshua, whose legs trembled throughout as multiple shots from the champion hit hard and true.
Another hard left from Dubois unnerved Joshua as he stumbled in the Final 10 before going down as the bell tolled. The nearby spectators were shocked, with one saying, “I can’t believe what I’m seeing here.”
Two more knockdowns followed in the third although the second rather unconvincingly was ruled a slip as the unified champion Oleksandr Usyk (Ukrainian professional boxer) watched on likely growing more and more convinced that Dubois would be among his pending fights.
Dubois was unrelenting, but in the fourth, Joshua showed signs of the determination that had seen him previously rebuild from career setbacks after goading and mocking the titleholder, Joshua finally landed a convincing shot before the bell went.
That new momentum carried into the fifth and it seemed that a miraculous comeback could be on the cards as again Joshua connected with Dubois. Sensing an opening, he went for the double, in a move that his Manager Eddie Hearn would later call greedy.
In that moment, Dubois spotted a chance, landing a counter-right that put the challenger down for the fourth and final time, his team in the corner moving to save him from himself as he scrambled to beat the count. It was to be Joshua’s fourth loss in 32 bouts.
After the winner had been declared he took to the mic, though, to suggest that he was not done yet despite many already suggesting this had been something of a last chance saloon for the fighter. Seemingly, the commentariat’s short memories drove that narrative had Joshua won he would have emulated the likes of the American professional boxers Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield (former) and Lennox Lewis (former British professional boxer) as a three-time world champion.
Confident that he was not yet set for retirement, Joshua recognized his own failings over the course of the five rounds, admitting that he had come up against a “fast and sharp opponent … a lot of mistakes from my end”.
Dubois, though, delivered not only the best shots of the night, but also the best line, yelling to the crowd “Are you not entertained?”. He was quoting the Russell Crowe (New Zealand actor and Director) movie ‘Gladiator’ in reference to Joshua having described himself as just that.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster run, this is my time, my redemption story,” Dubois added, after it appeared that he may have silenced those critics who had doubted his true potential in the buildup.
He added, “I want to get to the top of this sport and reach my full potential.”
A Joshua win would almost certainly have ramped up expectations that, finally, now would be the time the much-hyped, long sought-after dust-up with Fury happened – a fight the Saudi sport authority would have been only too keen to host.
But as Joshua dusted off his wounds, it appeared that Fury had already left the stage, leaving hopes of that prospective bout in tatters as one spectator walked past asking, “What have we just witnessed here?”
Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.
Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.