Tonight’s big fight ended with a fifth-round knockout of Anthony Joshua as Daniel Dubois proved himself to be the future of boxing’s top division. On the contrary, it seems like Anthony Joshua has reached the fag end of his career. Dubois completely dominated Joshua, sending him down in the first and third rounds before delivering the final blow in the fifth round. In a mere 59 seconds of the fifth, Dubois proved why he is among the best right now as he sent Joshua facing the canvas in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

Joshua’s corner did throw in the towel but to no avail. By then, a comeback seemed impossible for Joshua, as it truly looked like his best days were surely behind him. But despite being completely outclassed, Joshua has decided to continue boxing. However, friends and fans continue to pressure him towards calling it a day on his career. Something that has drawn the ire of none other than one of the biggest guests in the boxing fight, Conor McGregor.

McGregor truly enjoyed the fight. Throughout the show, fans could witness the animated reactions of the MMA fighter. So no wonder people wanted to know his thoughts on the knockout. Speaking to The Stomping Ground YouTube, McGregor criticized the lack of movement in Joshua’s arsenal throughout the fight. “Joshua was showing the same shot over and over, the step back back and the step back back over go.”

However, contrary to popular belief, McGregor disagrees with the popular opinion that Joshua should retire. When the reporter reveals to McGregor that Ricky Hatton believes Joshua should hang up his gloves, this gets the Irishman visibly angry. He defended the two-time world champion and claimed that a comeback surely could be made. “See, AJ is… AJ is number one. This is a stadium show here in AD, and he’s a legend forever.” He further added, “Sure. He had… he smacked him back, he stood his ground and smacked him back. And then he went forward and got caught. It’s only boxing. You get caught; you catch someone. Of course, he can come back for sure.” 

Joshua has been a huge draw for the world of boxing in the past decade. He’s helped the sport earn millions of dollars and sold out stadiums across the UK. And although he may be back, surely it is a tough sight for his fans as his record falls to 28-4. But what’s next on the plate for the Dubois after the win? And what did Joshua have to share after the fight?

What the big fight meant for the two, and what’s next up on the plate?

With a show of sportsmanship, Joshua acknowledged his opponent’s superiority on the microphone while admitting the “mistakes” he made in the ring. “Before I came here, I told myself that I’m going to be a fighter for life. You keep rolling the dice. I had a fast, sharp opponent, and there were a lot of mistakes on my part,” said the 34-year-old.

Joshua certainly was looking forward to a win in London to become a boxing legend because if had indeed won, he would enter the select club of three-time world champions, with Mohamed Ali, Lennox Lewis, and Evander Holyfield. Dubois thus retains the belt he won on an interim basis in June against Filip Hrgovic. The world title was awarded to him permanently, but ‘Triple D’ recognized his desire to make himself legitimately deserving of the title by beating Usyk.

With a record of 22-2, 21 KOs, Dubois is undoubtedly the future. Now, the British fighter could challenge Usyk or Tyson Fury next year, who face each other on December 21 in Riyadh. Earlier this week when he asked about who he prefers to face, the new winner said that he’d like to go “with the best, maybe Usyk.”

What did you think of the fight? Should AJ hang up his gloves, or do you agree with Conor McGregor? Let us know in the comments.