Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher had already thrilled the crowd with a musical intermezzo before the main event – ​​and Dubois proved himself to be a true rock ‘n’ roll star.

Despite being champion and thus breaking tradition, he walked out onto the ring first as fireworks were launched over the iconic Wembley arches.

A sea of ​​cameras lit up the national stadium even more as fan favorite Joshua – his eyes firmly fixed on the ring – entered with a medley that began with the Godfather theme and ended with “War” from Rocky IV.

Only four of their 49 combined victories were successful, with the expected early knockout coming in the first round from underdog Dubois, who landed a stunning overhand right in the closing seconds.

Joshua collapsed to the canvas and still hadn’t recovered in the second. Dubois didn’t back down, prowling the ring and finding success with his rod-like jab.

Perhaps Joshua was still haunted by the stories of the fights from a few years ago, when Dubois reportedly shook him to his core.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was catching up in the third round when a pumped-up Dubois threw a left hook that appeared to ground Joshua with his glove. It wasn’t counted as a knockdown, but Dubois kept up the assault until Joshua was knocked down again.

He was dropped twice in the third – the second was a misstep, but it was clear it was destined to happen. Unified champion Usyk and Tyson Fury, who are due to rematch in December, watched from the ringside, barely able to believe how the fight had developed.

The chants of “AJ, AJ” had died down.

After a thrilling fourth round, Joshua managed to land his first honest punch in the fifth round, but this brought Dubois into action.

A counterattack with a right hand, a punch that will stay with Dubois and everyone in attendance forever, sent Joshua to the ground for the final time.

The former poster boy of British boxing ran across the floor, desperately trying to get up, but he was unable to make the count.