Former BBBofC, Commonwealth, WBC Silver and WBO International heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois has been receiving criticism from the fans following his loss against Joe Joyce. However, Dubois now has none other than boxing icon Anthony Joshua himself taking a stand against the slack he has been enduring.
Daniel Dubois was knocked out in the 10th round of the bout that took place at the Church House in London on 28th November as Joe Joyce became the new titleholder. The match-winning knock from Joyce staggered Dubois, who even suffered gruesome injuries in his left eye as well as nerve damage and took a voluntary knee to be counted out.
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Since the defeat, Dubois has been facing massive reprimand from his fanbase for refusing to continue the match and has even been called a ‘quitter’ by some.
Easy to criticise from outside the ring: Anthony Joshua takes a stand for Daniel Dubois
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old has garnered the support of the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion of the world Anthony Joshua, who outlined how the tap outs in MMA are respected but knee downs in boxing are not- especially when Dubois sustained horrible eye damage.
“If Daniel needs someone to speak to, he should call me,” Anthony Joshua said in an interview with The Sun, “it is easy for people to criticise from outside the ring — but some people have been out of order. Daniel took a massive risk in taking that fight, as did Joe Joyce. They both knew the dangers and they both put it all on the line.”
“I hear people talking respectfully about tapping out in MMA fights. Then when a boxer stops because his eyeball is about to fall out, they call him a ‘quitter’ — are they serious?” added Joshua.
“AJ”, who is slated to take on Kubrat Pulev on 12th December at the O2 Arena in London, also indicated that he will be facing Dubois and Joyce in future, hailing both pugilists for becoming an integral part of the British heavyweight boxing scene.
“Daniel’s time will come,” Joshua went on, “I believe I will fight both him and Joyce. Joyce is underrated. He had a top amateur pedigree and it shows.”
“This is a great time for British heavyweight boxing — it has never been stronger — and those two guys are both a huge part of it,” Joshua concluded.
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