Anthony Joshua suffers huge rankings drop after Daniel Dubois defeat

Anthony Joshua suffered the fourth defeat of his professional career against Daniel Dubois and has now fallen down the heavyweight rankings following the defeat

Joshua was sensationally knocked out by Dubois in the fifth round of their heavyweight dust-up (
Image: Getty Images)

Anthony Joshua has dropped to seventh in the heavyweight rankings following his defeat by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.

‘AJ’ was ranked third in the Ring Magazine listings and was looking to maintain his position as one of the best in the division with a win over Dubois earlier this month. The British boxing star was a huge favourite going into the clash with the fellow-Brit, but struggled from the first bell. ‘Dynamite’ went on to drop Joshua four times in total before securing a sensational knockout to retain his IBF title.

As a result of his latest defeat, the former two-time heavyweight world champion has now dropped astonishingly to seventh position and has been leapfrogged by Dubois. Joshua now finds himself below the likes of Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel. ‘Dynamite’ now sits in second position, only behind the current unified champion, Oleksandr Usyk, who leads the list and Tyson Fury – who sits in first.

The next big fight in the heavyweight division is Oleksandr Usyk’s clash against Tyson Fury in December. It looked likely Dubois would wait for the winner, however, it would appear a rematch with Joshua now seems more realistic. Frank Warren, Dubois promoter, has revealed that ‘Dynamite’s’ next fight will take place early next year and is very much open to the rematch between the two heavyweight giants with February 22 pencilled in for a fight card in Riyadh.

In the updated rankings, Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang sit in third and fourth respectively, with Kabayel and Bakole in fifth and sixth – all above Joshua. Parker and Zhang have recently picked up wins over Deontay Wilder to help raise their position. The New Zealander sits above ‘Big Bang’ after beating him last year.

Kabayel finds himself in the top 10 after beating Frank Sanchez, while Bakole shocked the world in his last fight, defeating American prospect Jared Anderson. Sitting below Joshua are Filip Hrgovic, Efe Ajagba and Justis Huni – who all complete the latest heavyweight rankings.

Despite such a one-sided main event, Joshua refused to walk away. “You’re probably asking if I still want to consider fighting. Of course I want to continue fighting,” said Joshua, who declined to take questions at the post-fight press conference.

“We took a shot at success and we came up short. What does that mean now? That we’re going to run away? We’re going to live to fight another day. And that’s what I am – I’m a warrior. Always walk with your head high. We rolled the dice for the third time. There have been 13 world-title fights, not every one of them has been successful but every one has been fun and entertaining.

“There were a few mistakes in there but that’s the name of the game. Fine margins will cost you at the top level. Also before I finish, we have to give credit our opponent Daniel. When I sign up to fight opponents, I don’t really like them in my head any more. But now that it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done.”