‘Not an excuse’ – Anthony Joshua secret speaks volumes as trainer makes revelation
Anthony Joshua showed his true character by refusing to make excuses for his heavyweight title fight defeat to Daniel Dubois last year, despite his trainer revealing that the boxer faced an unexpected problem in his preparation.
Joshua entered the fight at Wembley Stadium last September as the favourite. Yet, he was dominated by British rival Dubois from the outset, being overwhelmed throughout the contest and knocked down multiple times
The former two-time world champion finally appeared to be gaining momentum in the fifth round. But after exchanging blows with Triple D, AJ was caught with a devastating right hand that left him slumped on the canvas, handing him his fourth career defeat.
Despite his clear disappointment in those agonising moments, Joshua displayed graciousness in defeat, praising his rival and saying: “Well played.”
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His trainer, Ben Davison, has since revealed that pre-fight logistics resulted in Joshua’s rushed preparations, preventing him from finding his usual rhythm. However, the 35-year-old has never used this as an excuse for his defeat or even mentioned that it happened.
Davison told talkSPORT: “This isn’t an excuse, he’s never mentioned it and it’s not the reason we lost. He was very very late arriving to the dressing room before the fight for unforeseen circumstances.
“It was a major rush which wasn’t ideal. Maybe that had an impact on his ring walk, I can’t say yes or no. Again it’s not an excuse, but if what you guys were seeing is true, maybe the fact he was late then that didn’t help.
“The fights before we had an extremely long warm-up, this time it was the complete opposite. But this time it was a big rush, although it wasn’t why he lost.”
Joshua has not yet returned to the ring following the crushing defeat. Elbow surgery has delayed his comeback, and AJ has not announced his next fight yet, either.
He claimed his first world title by knocking out Charles Martin in the second round at London’s O2 Arena in 2016.
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His second stint as world champion came in 2019 after a shocking loss to Andy Ruiz, from which he bounced back by outboxing the Mexican for a unanimous decision win.
Meanwhile, Dubois holds the IBF title and is set to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship crown on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. The meeting is a rematch of their 2023 bout, where Usyk triumphed with a ninth-round stoppage.
The fight was not without its controversies, however, as a punch from Dubois in the fifth round was ruled a low blow by the referee, giving Usyk nearly four minutes to recover.
The legitimacy of Dubois’ punch remains a point of contention between the two fighters, adding extra tension to the upcoming clash between the pair of heavyweight giants.
