Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has accused Daniel Dubois of landing an ‘illegal blow’ during their IBF title bout.
On Saturday night, Dubois produced the fight of his life in front of a packed crowd inside Wembley Stadium as he demolished Joshua within five rounds.
The 27-year-old was on the front foot from the get-go and scored multiple knockdowns before sending Joshua onto the floor for the final time in round five.
Speaking after the fight, promoter Hearn claimed that Dubois hit Joshua ‘in the nuts’ on two occasions but also gave him full credit for winning the bout.
As reported by The Mirror, Hearn said: “I said to him (Joshua) you’ve got to be proud you even found a way back into the fight because after the second round, for me the fight’s done, it’s over. Even the last knockout, he’s scrambling to get up.
“He couldn’t have tried another inch. When you do that you can look yourself in the mirror. He went all the way in the trenches. People want to take about taking a knee, spitting a gum shield out.”
He continued: “Listen, when Daniel Dubois hit him in the nuts in the third or fourth round, I’m screaming at AJ to take the full five minutes. That’s actually a bit of inexperience. At that point when he couldn’t stand up, he’s been hit full blown in the conkers.
“He said to the ref ‘I’m fine, let’s go’ and I’m like ‘what are doing?’ Then it happened again. He just came to fight tonight. It was a hell of fight. As gutted as we are, Daniel deserves a lot of credit.
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“Tonight is his crowning night. Not being elevated to interim champion, tonight is the night he showed he is a true world champion. He’s got a big future ahead of him as well.”
Joshua did not mention the apparent illegal blows Hearn spoke about but vowed to continue his career.
The 34-year-old said: “Of course I still want to continue fighting. We took a shot at success and came up short. Are we going to run away now or live to fight another day? I’m a warrior. Always walk with your head up high.
“We rolled the dice. That’s 13 world title fights, not all of them have been successful but they’ve all been fun and entertaining. We want to create history for British boxing and I think we are doing that.”
