Derek Chisora spotted worrying sign from Anthony Joshua moments before Daniel Dubois fight started
Derek Chisora believes something was wrong with Anthony Joshua before his fight with Daniel Dubois.
The Watford powerhouse fell to the fourth defeat of his professional career against Dubois on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium in front of 98,128 fans.
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Dubois dropped Joshua four times en route to the shock fifth-round knockout victory that has shaken up boxing’s glamour division.
Before the fight, few gave Dubois any chance of victory, including Derek Chisora, who tipped Joshua to make quick work of ‘Triple D’.
When Chisora joined talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show on Thursday afternoon, he admitted his pre-fight prediction was ‘delusional’.
However, he also insisted the upset was heavily influenced by Joshua ‘freezing’ on the night.
Asked what went wrong for Joshua, Chisora told talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show: “For me he froze, he didn’t chuck anything.
“When he was in there he stood in one corner, he didn’t feel the ring, he didn’t look around the ring, he just stood there.
“Daniel was moving around, looking at the ring, soaking up the [atmosphere] and he [Joshua] didn’t do that.
“By the time the first bell went off, I think Daniel landed the first punch, a double jab, which is the most threatening shot in boxing.”
Chisora wasn’t the only one that picked up on Joshua’s body language.
Dubois’ trainer Don Charles observed that he looked as though he was ‘in a trance’.
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“My duty and focus is on us, but I know Anthony Joshua very well,” Charles told talkSPORT on Monday.
“But when I looked across the ring, I saw a man who looked like he was in a trance.
“He looked like he was in hypnosis like he had been hypnotised. I am experienced, I can pick up on things.
“I thought ‘we’d got you’ because I didn’t recognise the person I know. He was under hypnosis.
“They said Daniel was going to get stage fright, but he looked like a man who was in a state of shock.
“He was like ‘Oh my god this is real now’, he could also feel the energy from the opposition.”
