Anthony Joshua insider sensationally blamed for nightmare Daniel Dubois defeat - 'Hasn't been through war'

Anthony Joshua Daniel Dubois

Boxing news: Anthony Joshua has faced scrutiny ever since his defeat to Daniel Dubois last month

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Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 04/10/2024

- 14:51

AJ was beaten in five rounds on September 21

Anthony Joshua's trainer, Ben Davison, has been blamed for the boxing star's recent defeat to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.

AJ had gone into the showdown as the favourite to reign supreme, especially given how he'd won his four previous fights.


Yet Dubois put on a masterclass, with the 27-year-old flooring Joshua multiple times before finally getting the job done in the fifth round.

Roy Jones Jr, speaking to talkSPORT, has now blamed Davison for AJ's crushing defeat.

Boxing news Anthony Joshua

Boxing news: Anthony Joshua has faced scrutiny ever since his defeat to Daniel Dubois last month

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He says the trainer 'hasn't been through war' and believes Joshua needed a more experienced coach in order to get the better of Dubois.

"It takes real boxing knowledge and IQ and people who have been there, and if you don't have somebody who has they can't teach you that," he said.

"You have to have somebody who knows how to travel those seas when things get tough.

"Yeah I don't think Ben Davison has had a lot of fights himself. He has had a lot of coaching.

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"But he hasn't been there himself and it's hard if you haven't been there yourself.

"Some guys get lucky but it is very difficult to coach without that. He hasn't been through that war.

"I can't teach you how to swim through the ocean if I haven't been through the ocean before.

"I'm sorry. Nothing against Ben Davison, he has done a good job with fighters.

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"But when you get to that deep water, it is hard to tell people if you haven't been there."

One person who disagrees with Jones Jr, however, is Eddie Hearn.

Hearn, who represents Joshua, has insisted the fighter did 'all the things' Davison didn't tell him to do.

Therefore, he believes Joshua's defeat lies firmly at his door - instead of anybody else's.

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Boxing news: Ben Davison has been blamed for Anthony Joshua's defeat to Daniel Dubois

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“I mean [Davison] gets all the praise for his last couple of performances,” Hearn told Boxing Scene.

“AJ did things that Ben didn't tell him to do, he pulled back in a straight line with his chin in the air, his hand position, you know, all this kind of stuff.

“What happened at that point is he started to recover but he was still very low in the tank, and that wasn't going to change.

"What you don't want to do is be nine, or 10 rounds in and be damaged goods. This is the chance here [when he hurt Dubois in Round 5].

Anthony Joshua

Boxing news: Anthony Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in their fight last month

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"You've got your feet back, you buzzed him in the fourth round, roll the dice. I think it should be commended.

"But you know I think Ben [Davison] and Lee [Wylie] do a great job, have done a great job, he just didn't perform, and you know I think as a team they’ll regroup and come again.”

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