'Young pretender Dubois legitimises world title reign'

Daniel Dubois was the heavyweight champion lacking a crowning moment, but connected Saturday the young pretender from Greenwich legitimised his reign.

Youth, fearlessness and earthy determination prevailed arsenic Dubois destroyed the elder statesman, Anthony Joshua, successful 5 rounds with 96,000 fans bearing witnesser to the passing of a torch.

When Dubois told america helium was the "king slayer" lone a fistful listened, fto unsocial believed him.

Now, those who labelled him a "paper champion" for being upgraded from interim to satellite champion erstwhile Oleksandr Usyk vacated the IBF loop person been hushed.

In a marquee event wherever instrumentalist Liam Gallagher belted retired 3 Oasis classics, Joshua's masterplan to go a three-time champion ended successful disappointment.

The daze effect leaves his distinguished vocation astatine a crossroad - oregon possibly hurtling into the halt sign.

BBC Sport reflects connected Dubois' career-defining infinitesimal and what the result means for Joshua and the heavyweight division.

Dubois, 27, becomes a apical canine successful the glamour division, but 'Dynamite' is not a flash successful the cookware and has agelong been prophesied for heavyweight stardom.

His begetter Stan instructed him to bash hours of press-ups from the property of five, introduced him to pugilism aged 8 and encouraged him to crook nonrecreational aft a fewer elder bouts..

As a teenager, Dubois reportedly rocked Joshua successful sparring and caught the attraction of Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.

"I ever believed successful him," an "extremely proud" Warren said successful the post-fight quality conference.

Dubois was wide written disconnected by pundits, fans and his peers aft defeats by Joe Joyce and Usyk. There person been changes of trainers, rebuilds and adjacent unjust calls for status portion inactive successful his mid-20s.

Then determination are those who mocked the reserved champion's trash speech - oregon alternatively deficiency of - and suggested helium would crumble nether the unit of a Wembley crowd.

All week helium played 2nd fiddle to Joshua, but the soundless assassin refused to beryllium intimidated erstwhile it mattered, not taking a azygous backmost halt and dropping AJ 4 times.

Jeered heading into the ringing but cheered arsenic helium left, Dubois told reporters: "I was Daniel successful the Lion's Den. I was unstoppable. I wasn't going to beryllium denied."

Boxing waited 25 years for an undisputed heavyweight champion earlier Usyk outpointed Fury successful December.

Casual followers nary longer needed an explainer connected wherefore determination were aggregate satellite champions, a deficiency of 1 azygous ranking strategy oregon the interior workings of 4 main governing bodies.

Dubois' triumph sets up a imaginable bout against the winner of the Fury-Usyk rematch, wherever a triumph could implicit 1 of the astir singular turnarounds successful the sport's past and different undisputed champion.

A fresh-faced Joshua, with nary miles connected the clock, stopped the overmatched Charles Martin to triumph his archetypal satellite rubric 8 years ago. Today, helium presented a precise antithetic antheral and fighter.

Joshua admirably spoke to the property afterwards to accidental "of people I privation to combat again", but for the archetypal clip since facing Usyk helium faced a live, unsafe hostile and came unstuck.

Maybe we were lured into a mendacious consciousness by this expected second-coming of Joshua - opponents James Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou were acold from world-beaters.

Or possibly begetter clip has conscionable dilatory caught up. During Joshua's purple spot helium seemed unstoppable. As adjacent the astir accomplished of boxers yet find out, purple patches are not endless.

For arsenic agelong arsenic helium is active, Joshua volition stay a immense draw. Though the magnitude and crossover entreaty of a imaginable AJ-Fury contest, which promoter Eddie Hearn says could inactive happen, has greatly diminished.

If Saudi Arabia has go the location of big-time boxing, combat week successful London was an accumulation of the Kingdom's increasing and arguable power connected the sport.

The paper was billed arsenic a 'Riyadh Season' lawsuit and organised by Turki Alalshikh. He is the president of Saudi Arabia's wide amusement authority, funded by Saudi's Public Investment Fund reported to person spent much than £5bn connected sport.

And determination was small disbursal spared by Alalshikh successful a combat week of a standard ne'er seen earlier successful British boxing.

Fighters experienced the Hollywood premiere attraction astatine a lavish expansive arrivals successful London's Leicester Square.

Three nonrecreational bouts were adjacent held aft Wednesday's nationalist workout wherever clever staging transformed Wembley Arena into Buckingham Palace.

A quality league was staged astatine London's breathtaking Grade I listed Guildhall, and Trafalgar Square provided an iconic weigh-in location.

On combat night, a raucous assemblage was a marked opposition from the much tranquil and quiescent mounting of the alcohol-free Kingdom.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, histrion Sienna Miller and movie manager Guy Ritchie added personage stardust. Saudi Arabia tourism was promoted done videos and competitions connected the Wembley screens.

A booth extracurricular the stadium allowed fans to 'capture your Saudi moment' by trying accepted mediate eastbound coffee, portion the Kingdom's nationalist anthem was played retired earlier God Save the King to "honour" the organisers.

The full lawsuit was caller territory for British boxing and provides anticipation that the athletics is heading successful the close absorption by staging the biggest fights regularly.

But astatine what cost? Fury v Usyk heads to Riyadh for the 2nd clip and determination is nary warrant that Joshua oregon caller king Dubois volition vie successful Britain anytime soon.

On the flip side, without the Saudi investment, determination is each accidental these immense heavyweight showdowns would not beryllium happening astatine all.