Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian royal behind some of the world’s biggest boxing fights, appeared to be unhappy as he watched Anthony Joshua fall to a spectacular defeat by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
Dubois dropped his compatriot to the canvas in the opening round with a stinging right, the referee delivering a standing eight count, and the 27-year-old proceeded to tear up the pre-fight predictions as swiftly as he ripped into his opponent.
Joshua, 34, took another hammering in round two but managed to ride out the storm before round three came crashing down around him again. With Dubois landing more fizzing right-handers, Joshua was literally on the ropes before being saved by the bell.
He could barely stand at the end of the fourth, after going down again with two minutes remaining, and then it was all over in the fifth with the painstaking rebuilding of his career suddenly in ruins. After landing a few promising blows, any signs of a fightback faded with a right to the chin that sent Joshua down, the former IBF, WBA and IBO champion this time unable to get back on his feet.
Alalshikh put on the fight as part of Saudi Arabia’s aggressive assault on the sport, with billions of dollars poured in to stage global events both in the Saudi capital Riyad and, increasingly, at major venues around the world.
But his plans for Joshua to eventually fight Tyson Fury, in what would be one of the most lucrative and highly anticipated contests in the history of heavyweight boxing, look to be in tatters after Joshua was so easily dismantled by the younger Briton.
As the camera panned ringside between rounds, a glum-looking Alalshikh appaered to make a throat-cutting gesture, as if to instruct the camera operator not to focus on him. The live broadcast quickly flicked back to an image of the ring.
Alalshikh hopes to have more luck with Oleksandr Usyk v Fury, the next major heavyweight contest on the calendar. Usyk won the original fight by split decision in Riyadh in May, and the pair will meet again in December.
“The rematch between the Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season,” Alalshikh wrote on X at the time.
“The world will watch another historical fight again…Our commitment to boxing fans continues. We hope you enjoy it.”
