Anthony Joshua admitted he went into ‘survival mode’ during his titanic clash against Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title.
The 34-year-old was bidding to become a three-time world champion but was left stunned after suffering a fifth-round KO at the hands of his 27-year-old opponent.
From the off Dubois looked the more sharper, hungrier fighter, downing Joshua in the opening round showcasing his brutal power and sheer force.
And it only went from bad to worse for the former two-time world champion over the next four and a half rounds.
Anthony Joshua was knocked down on two more occasions before a dramatic exchange of punches between the pair in the fifth saw the title holder land the lethal blow.
Daniel Dubois KO’d Anthony Joshua in the fifth round to retain his IBF heavyweight title
The 27-year-old victor looked the sharper of the two throughout the bout
Speaking after the fight Joshua revealed what went wrong for him on Saturday night
Speaking to BBC after his shocking defeat, Joshua broke down what went wrong for him.
He said: ‘The first round? Overhand right, chin in the air, no defence kaboom.
‘And it was a bit of a downhill slope from there. Tried to change the tides but it just weren’t my night tonight.’
Anthony Joshua never looked to recover from the brutal knockout blow delivered by Dubois in the first round.
Although he had moments of excellency especially in the firth round before his shocking KO which showed why he is still considered amongst the greatest heavyweights.
He failed to showcase his true talent and show up for the momentous occasion.
Revealing what went wrong from him in the fifth round despite starting it strongly Joshua said:
‘I caught him with a good shot I think and then I tried to go for it, and then I got caught with an overhead right, when I was throwing the uppercut.
‘Thing is, I wasn’t setting shots up. In a shootout like that you really got to be a bit more sniper-esque.
‘But when you’ve been hit a few times, it’s survival, I’m in survival mode.
‘I just want to get him out of there and we had a shoot out and he hit me.’
This isn’t set to the mark the end of his career however as Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed the will probably fight again.
‘I’m sure I’ll exercise that rematch clause.
‘He’ll believe he can hurt Dubois, he’ll believe he can beat him.’
When Anthony Joshua was asked himself if this was the end for him he said: ‘Nah, Nah, we’re gladiators. We had a bad day at the office.
‘Listen the people want to see me fight, I’ll fight. I’ll fight that’s it.’