Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois: slaying the giant

Breaking down Daniel Dubois' shocking win over one of heavyweight's biggest stars.

Daniel Dubois just became one of the biggest names in boxing’s marquee division overnight. A solid craftsman by heavyweight standards, in recent years Dubois has also shown flashes of artistic brilliance, a real feel for the game that seems more and more pronounced as he enters the prime of his professional career.

Last weekend against Anthony Joshua, those moments of brilliance came quicker and more frequently than ever before. Joshua is a pillar of British boxing, one of the biggest stars in the world. He was favored at about -400 odds to win. Instead, he found himself on the canvas inside the first three minutes. It would prove to be the first of at least three knockdowns (the referee missed one). And then, just as Joshua seemed to be gaining confidence in the fifth round, Dubois came off the ropes with a counter right hand that put him down for good.

The knockout called to mind the climax of the final fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez—but the fight as a whole reminded me of another famous heavyweight upset: Ken Norton’s dominant win over Muhammad Ali. Now maybe Anthony Joshua doesn’t deserve to be compared to Ali, but given that it was an infamously flat performance from the Greatest, the analogy fits. And there was certainly more than a bit of Ken Norton in the way Dubois walked down and calmly out-jabbed the bigger man.

Things went south for Anthony Joshua almost as soon as the opening bell sounded. Standing 6’6” with an 84” wingspan (198cm and 208cm, respectively), Joshua is used to having his personal space respected. The way things played out, though, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Daniel Dubois with the reach advantage. He has an excellent jab supported by some surprisingly subtle footwork and feints. Less than 30 seconds into the first round, he used it to run Joshua into the first of many right hands.

Just look at how Dubois covers distance with that lance of a jab. In fact, you can see that Dubois likes to bring his lead foot into range before actually firing the punch. Normally that would telegraph the shot, but Dubois does not commit any weight to the initial step. The result is that his upper body stays back, making it difficult for Joshua, whose eyes remain fixed on Dubois’ face, to tell that he has crept into range. Rhythm also contributes to the deception: the forward step comes in time with Dubois’ light, bouncy footwork. It blends right in.

It’s a seriously heavy jab, but Dubois doesn’t overcommit to it. Even when the heel of his heel touches the ground, his weight is borne by the ball of the foot. I call that a cat step, and it ensures that when Dubois gets into range to launch the right hand his weight remains fairly evenly distributed between both feet. Balance is key.

Let’s talk about Joshua for a moment, though. Straight away, the pressure created by Dubois’ jab made him very uncertain. After being driven back toward the ropes, he flirts with the idea of circling off to the left; perhaps he thought he would misdirect Dubois, get him to commit and then change direction on him. If so, too slow. Not only does Joshua square himself up by opening his stance like that, he then tries to scurry off to the right well after Dubois has already touched him with the jab. Dubois hardly has to adjust to cut him off, because Joshua may as well be strolling across an active shooting range.

Things did not improve for AJ any time soon. With about 15 seconds left in the first round, the referee separated the fighters from a clinch, and Dubois turned to his corner for instruction. Perhaps thinking that Dubois had relaxed or gotten distracted, Joshua tried to pull a fast one on him.