Daniel Dubois recalls dropping Anthony Joshua in sparring

Boxingnews24.com

By Scott Gilfoid: Big heavyweight prospect Daniel Dubois (5-0, 5 KOs) confirms that he did indeed drop heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua during a sparring session. Dubois, 6’5”, says he caught Joshua with some good shots, and that was it.

Dubois didn’t mention whether Joshua had to be carried out of the ring or anything like that. Dubois just confirmed the rumor of having put Joshua down in sparring.

”Yes, there is definitely truth to that,” said Dubois to Fighthype, when asked if there’s truth to the rumors of having flattened Joshua during a sparring sesson. ”I’ve sparred him and got him with some big shots. Anyone that gets in the ring with me will tell you I punch really hard,” said Dubois.

It’s safe to say that Dubois won’t be sparring with Joshua again anytime soon. Dubois’s talking of what went on behind closed doors in the sparring session with Joshua likely hasn’t endeared him to the champion.

So, there it is. The 20-year-old Dubois knocked Joshua down while sparring. It would be nice to know if the knockdown occurred just before Joshua fought Wladimir Klitschko last year or after that fight. Joshua’s chin did not look stable in the Klitschko fight. We saw Wladimir tap Joshua with a shot in the 6th round that caused him to hit the deck. Joshua barely survived that fight. In Joshua’s recent match against Carlos Takam, he was buzzed a couple of times in that one as well.

The magic question is, did Dubois knock something loose in Joshua’s head from the sparring session or has he always had poor punch resistance. I don’t remember seeing Joshua get knocked down in the 2012 Olympics, and he was hit hard by the likes of Roberto Cammarelle, Erislandy Savon and Ivan Dychko. Those guys landed some major shots on Joshua’s chin, and he took it. Why suddenly is Joshua getting dropped left and right at this point in his career? Did Dubois do that to him?

Joshua and Dubois will meet up at some point in the future if they both keep winning.

Dubois is viewed as a future world champion at heavyweight by a lot of boxing fans. At 20, Dubois is going to be around for a long time in the sport. What’s surprising is the wily promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t sign him when he first turned pro. Dubois signed by Frank Warren.

Dubois will be fighting on Saturday night against Dorian Darch (12-5-1, 1 KOs) on the James DeGale vs. Caleb Truax card at the Copper Box Arena in London, England. Dubois’s hasn’t received as much attention as DeGale’s mismatch against Truax and the co-feature bout between IBF World featherweight champion Lee Selby and Eduardo Ramirez. With those 2 fights being dreadful mismatches, Dubois has a chance to steal the show with his fight with Darch. I mean, Dubois’ fight is just as much a mismatch as DeGeale and Selby’s, but he has a better chance of looking good in his fight by ending it with a highlight reel knockout due to his punching power. Let’s be honest. DeGale and Selby are little more than slappers without any real power to speak of.