LONDON, ENGLAND: While Artur Beterbiev sat about 10 metres away at the head table in London, Dmitry Bivol was typically respectful of the task ahead. On October 12, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the pair will meet for featherlight heavyweight supremacy in a fight of true historical significance.

Although Beterbiev didn’t even try to suppress a yawn during several long introductions, there was obvious concentration on Bivol’s face, and when he spoke in English, a hint of nervousness. Neither of them was cut out to sit and talk behind a microphone.

He was asked what is more vital to Bivol: the belts or the chance to face Beterbiev?

“First I wanted an undisputed fight and I wanted to fight the best boxers in the featherlight heavyweight division,” Bivol said. “That’s my goal, to make a name for myself. He has those belts.”

The 39-year-old Beterbiev owns three of them, Bivol owns another. They have fought 43 professional fights together without a draw or defeat.

“I hope that the average fan around the world understands the importance of this fight,” Bivol’s promoter Eddie Hearn said earlier. “It’s a fight that will go down in history; it’s the best fight that can happen in boxing today.”

It’s tough to disagree with this.

This is the fight Bivol always wanted.

“That was my goal when I came into professional boxing, to be the best in the featherlight heavyweight division and this is the final fight where I can prove myself,” the 33-year-old said. “What does that mean to me? I’ve been in boxing since I was six years ancient. I’ve sacrificed so much in my life. This is the final step. Did I do everything right or not? I want everything to be right.”

Anthony Joshua found himself at the centre of shocking events following his defeat by Daniel Dubois, which came amid a evident mass ovation at Wembley Stadium.

Since suffering the worst defeat of his career, Joshua’s future has not only been in tatters, but his reputation has also been hanging in the balance. Several hundred social media posts and videos, including one in which Conor McGregor happily watched Dubois crush Joshua, make it clear that the former Olympic champion is no longer the darling of British boxing.

At one point in his career, AJ could do no wrong. Everyone loved him, and even the social media “hackers” who defended Robert Mugabe and made “superior black” racial comments went unpunished.

The in-ring antics following his loss to Oleksandr Usyk seemed to change public opinion, as Joshua’s personality evolved towards a sense of superiority and disrespect. This scenario occurred despite the Londoner telling his opponents not to disrespect him and claiming to be “humble” to the core.

To many, Joshua got what he deserved after years of pushing his whiter-than-white image on everyone. Not to mention his promoter who informed everyone that Joshua was the second coming of boxing Christ, despite knowing full well that his man had a few flaws.

These noticeable flaws would have been better presented to the public and would have undoubtedly reduced the pressure on Joshua. As it turned out, that pressure consumed Anthony Joshua alive, ultimately leading to his downfall since 2019.

In Dubois’ case, CompuBox called it a “one-sided thrashing” – which is tough to argue with. They said, “Dubois came out and started hammering Joshua in the final seconds of the round with a right hook. By the end of the two rounds, Dubois had landed 18 power punches to Joshua’s five.

“Dubois scored a second knockdown in the third round. Joshua landed a left hook early in the fourth round but was rocked by a straight jab from Dubois and eventually knocked down again. In a desperate attempt to change the course of the fight, Joshua tried to throw himself at Dubois in the opening seconds of the fifth round.

“Joshua seemed to be stunned and supported Dubois, but Dubois’ counterpunch knocked Joshua down at 59 seconds of the fifth round.

“The final stats reflect a one-sided drubbing. Dubois landed more than twice as many punches as Joshua. Joshua landed 35 power punches. Dubois landed 49 power punches and had four knockdowns.”

Furthermore, Joshua insisted on going through the ring first, and the whole farce smacked of a privilege he didn’t deserve given his recent form. Dubois deserved to be champion, if only based on his record since 2022, but he was clearly not allowed to exercise that right because of Joshua’s ego.

Coming into his talkSPORT appearance, IBF heavyweight world champion Dubois fared well in his assessment.

“It’s not fair, is the champion really going to come out first? I thought we had a great ring walk. I was just soaking it in. We lit up the place,” Dubois said.

“From the moment I left the locker room, I was focused on my work. Once I was in the ring, there was no turning back. Now it’s time to start.”

Anthony Joshua enters the ring first

On Joshua’s long walk around the ring, Dubois replied, “I didn’t really watch it. I heard it. It was peaceful and mournful. We definitely won the first fight in ring walks.”

Fans commented on Joshua’s behaviour after the match, with one distinctly British critic saying: “I know a lot of fans went to Wembley to see Joshua get knocked out and hope he gets knocked out.”

Another added: “Joshua got knocked out deservedly. Outboxed, outclassed, losing massively on points and doing shit like this [pulling tongues]. The fraud was exposed.”

Boxing trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards summed it up best with his comments about Joshua, who was blowing, disrespecting Dubois and calling him a “bastard” moments before he was knocked out.

Edwards stated, “Never underestimate your opponent. You can’t call a guy shit if he’s knocked you down multiple times.”

This is a dignified end to this whole disaster.