Boxing
Wainwright assesses Riyadh’s season in London
Daniel Dubois celebrates with his team after defeating Anthony Joshua in front of a record crowd. Photo: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing. Daniel Dubois celebrates with his team after defeating Anthony Joshua in front of a record crowd. Photo: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
The season came to London on a star-studded evening at the home of English sport in Riyadh.
The glamour that accompanied numerous performances in Riyadh and last month in Los Angeles has been transferred to Wembley Stadium.
Thousands of people packed Trafalgar Square for the weigh-ins and on Saturday night a massive crowd of 98,128 packed the legendary venue (has anyone seen Carl Froch, ha ha) to witness a six-fight event headlined by the heavyweights themselves (more on that later) before a pair of British heavyweights took to the main stage.
Before the IBF heavyweight title fight, few gave Daniel Dubois much chance of beating Anthony Joshua. The defending champion was priced at 11/4 (+275), and in the Fight Picks I put together for The Ring, only one (shout out to Duke McKenzie) of 20 experts chose DDD.
A few years ago there were rumors of them sparring. As usual, venerable stories from the gym were everywhere, some suggesting that AJ directed the event while others said Dubois did very well and even knocked Joshua down. But as they say, sparring is sparring, it’s a whole different story when they actually get in there.
Dubois entered first and looked a little apprehensive, while Joshua entered looking at home, tranquil and prepared for what was about to happen.
It proved pointless, Dubois was keen from the start and dominated with his precise jab, while Joshua was perhaps too confident and looked too relaxed, his guard low and effortless to hit. In the dying seconds of the first round, a powerful right hook connected with Joshua and knocked him down. Joshua scrambled to his feet and the bell intervened before more punches could be landed.
Dubois takes on Joshua. Photo: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
A minute of rest wasn’t enough, and Dubois pounced early in Round 2. While Joshua will have to deal with some naysayers, the one thing he can’t be criticized for is his heart, which he showed in abundance on Saturday. Despite being caught multiple times and having his legs wobbly, he managed to stay upright.
The tide turned in the final seconds of the third round as Dubois landed a left hook that AJ missed, the popular Brit’s legs danced and Dubois lunged again. Joshua put both gloves on the mat and the count began, but referee Marcus McDonnell was behind both fighters and didn’t see the try so he let the action continue. A few more unanswered punches landed and Joshua slumped to the mat. Again, the bell probably saved him.
As round 4 began, Dubois ran across the ring and scored a third knockdown. The end seemed inevitable. To Joshua’s credit, he fought bravely.
In Round 5 Joshua finally landed three powerful right hooks that forced Dubois to retreat, but as quickly as the miraculous comeback had occurred Dubois ended the fight with a devastating right hook that landed as Joshua landed a wide hook. AJ was knocked down for the fourth and final time. This time he was unable to get back to his feet and was counted out at 0.59.
EVERYTHING IS OVER🔥🔥🔥#RiyadhSeasonal Card:Wembley Edition#JoshuaDubois | Live NOW https://t.co/FoiaUucafv: Click link in bio to purchase | @turk_alalshikh photo: twitter.com/zZEm2Vufy9
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 21, 2024
Dubois landed 79 of 196 punches, for an impressive 40.3 percent success rate. Joshua landed 32 of 117 punches, for a 27.4 percent success rate. The younger man’s jab landed 30 of 100 punches, while Joshua landed 18 of 82 punches, for a 22 percent success rate.
Joshua (28-4, 25 knockouts) hinted at a rematch in his post-fight interview. But it was so one-sided it doesn’t make sense. Perhaps Joshua, 34, could come back, but he’s made a fortune and you wonder if he has the desire to climb the mountain again. He later said he does, but time will tell.
Meanwhile, Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), who has enjoyed a pretty solid year with wins over Jarrell Miller (TKO 10) and Filip Hrgovic (TKO 8), now has his biggest scalp to date. He mentioned unified Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk, but they fought just over a year ago and I’d like to see him win a fight or two more before I look at that option. A fight with one of the others who impressed in Riyadh Season, namely Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang, Agit Kabayel or, in my opinion, Martin Bakole, would be nice.
Tyson Fury, who shares the same promoter as Dubois, did not share his teammates’ joy.
“It cost me £150 million!” 😅🤣
Tyson Fury’s immediate reaction to AJ’s knockout 🤑#JoshuaDubois photo:twitter.com/PeraMGLrHD
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) September 22, 2024
There was a lot of talk about the preliminary card. We saw Mark Chamberlain strip publicly. The Ring’s No. 9-ranked lightweight was highly rated but was soundly defeated by Josh Padley. This is a potentially life-changing win for Padley, who could be looking for bigger things in the future. Maybe he’ll go back to his usual 130 and attract a lot more attention now, or maybe he’ll face Sam Noakes at 135. Chamberlain is back to the drawing board, having looked parched at that weight. Maybe he’ll stay at lightweight or try out for junior welterweight. Either way, the shine has worn off.
Josh Kelly defeated tardy sub Ismail Davis in a middleweight fight. It wasn’t the most stimulating fight, we’ll see and both will return to 154.
Anthony Cacace continued his impressive run of form by defeating Josh Warrington in 12 rounds. Many were dismayed that the IBF didn’t sanction the fight, but if they didn’t see fit to put Warrington in their top 15, that’s their prerogative. Cacace, at 35, is enjoying something of an Indian summer in his career. He now faces tough mandatory Eduardo Nunez. While Warrington, who has lost his last three fights and is now 33, seems to be a bit of a shake-up. He was an above-average fighter who enjoyed a very productive career.
In a delicate heavyweight fight between two Ring-ranked fighters, Buatsi, No. 4, twice knocked down Hutchinson, No. 9, who also had a point deduction. The judges gave a couple of odd scores. One judge inexplicably gave it to Hutchinson, another was too generous to Buatsi, giving him a huge advantage, while the third, in my opinion, was right to score it 115-110, which worked out to 7-5 rounds with two 10-8 knockdowns, plus a point deduction. Hutchinson is youthful and may follow in Dubois’ footsteps, learning from his losses and rebounding from them. Buatsi, a 2016 Olympian, has been a pro for seven years. Rumor has it that he turned down a fight with WBA ruler Dmitry Bivol, saying he wasn’t ready. That fight was for the WBO interim title, so you’d think he’s only a fight or two away from fighting the winner of Bivol-Artur Beterbiev. If he’s not ready now, he never will be.
Willy Hutchinson and Joshua Buatsi. Photo: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
Middleweight phenomenon Hamzah Sheeraz continued his march to the top of the division, defeating the usually solid Tyler Denny to add the European title to his growing collection of belts. Sheeraz is ready for anyone, and I would put him as the favorite over any middleweight not named Janibek Alimkhanuly.
This year, three more shows are scheduled for Riyadh:
Then, on October 12, Riyadh Season returns home for the undisputed delicate heavyweight title fight between Beterbiev and Bivol, which here is the best fight in boxing, with the vacant Ring Magazine title on the line.
Then it will be Golden Boy’s time to shine on November 16 when they host “Latino Night” in Riyadh, with WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez and WBO titleholder Chris Billam-Smith playing a central role in their unification.
The year will end with Usyk, the WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion, and Tyson Fury, who will return on December 21.
While some aspects of the show may not be to everyone’s taste, there is no doubt that we are witnessing some of the best fighters in the world fighting on the biggest stage possible, with some of the biggest and most pioneering platforms ever seen in boxing.
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