Fans spot Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois ‘broke protocol’
Boxing fans were shocked by the decision.
Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Wembley Stadium
Ben McCrum
Topics: Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Wembley Stadium
Fans have only just noticed that the heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois broke one major boxing tradition.
Joshua entered the ring at Wembley stadium on Saturday night hoping to become just the fourth man to be a three-time heavyweight champion, as he faced IBF heavyweight title holder Dubois.
Having been given the belt after it was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk, Dubois entered the fight as the underdog but proved all of his doubters wrong by dominating Joshua throughout the fight, knocking him down several times before finishing him in the fifth round.
But during the bout, some boxing fans noticed one strange detail that shows that both Joshua and Dubois broke one major tradition on fight night.
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Typically in a boxing fight involving a world title, the challenger will walk out first and wait in the ring while the champion has his ring walk second.
However, at Wembley last night, it was Dubois who walked out first despite the fact that he is the IBF heavyweight champion and it was Joshua who was challenging for the belt.
Presumably, this was done as Joshua was viewed by many as the 'A side' of the bout due to his histroy in the sport and his overall popularity, even though he was not the champion.
But this didn't stop fans taking to social media to voice their confusion and their anger at the decision.
Posting on X, one fan wrote: "So Dubois is the world champion, on the basis the IBF gave him the belt, why did he walk out first? The champion usually gets the second walk."
Another added: "I don’t think I’ve ever seen a defending champion come out first for a ring walk! What is this woke nonsense."
While another agreed: "The champion (Dubois) walking out first should never be happening."
And writing after the fight had ended with Dubois getting his hand raised, another posted: "Unreal Dubois was written off at all stages even made to walk first… total dominance bell to bell… great performance."
After knocking Joshua down late in the first round, Dubois controlled the fight, knocking the former champion down another two times before finishing the fight after Joshua failed to make the count after his 27 year-old opponent landed a powerful right hand.