Daniel Dubois KOs Anthony Joshua to retain IBF heavyweight crown

Daniel Dubois dominated favored challenger Anthony Joshua with a fifth-round knockout in a successful first defense of his IBF heavyweight title on Saturday in London.

Dubois knocked down Joshua, a two-time world champion, four times in the first four rounds before his right hand to the jaw dropped Joshua and referee Marcus McDonnell counted him out 59 seconds into the fifth.

The highly anticipated all-British bout, which was scheduled for 12 rounds, drew 96,000 spectators to Wembley Stadium, a postwar attendance record for a boxing event in the United Kingdom, according to reports.

Dubois, 27, improved to 22-2 with 21 knockouts, while Joshua, 34, fell to 28-4 with 25 KOs.

The much-sharper Dubois landed 79 of 196 punches thrown (40 percent), according to CompuBox statistics, compared to 32 of 117 punches (27 percent) for Joshua. Dubois also made better contact on jabs (30 of 100) than Joshua (18 of 82) and had the edge on power shots (49 of 96) over his opponent (14 of 35).

Dubois next might be looking to avenge a ninth-round stoppage on Aug. 26, 2023, to Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk, the reigning WBC, WBA and WBO champion. Usyk was in attendance Saturday along with his Dec. 21 opponent, Tyson Fury of Great Britain.

"I'm fighting to get all the glory; to me, I'm the hunter and I need to hunt," said Dubois, who was asked about his next fight. "All of the best, maybe Usyk, a big shot at my redemption, but anyone can get it."

--Field Level Media/Reuters