Anthony Joshua used one word to describe impact of Daniel Dubois punch

Anthony Joshua could only say 'kaboom' about the impact of Daniel Dubois' punch that left him on the canvas in the opening round of their thrilling heavyweight clash at Wembley.

Despite being favoured to win the bout, AJ was given an unwelcome introduction to the fight on Saturday night. The 34-year-old heavyweight was left struggling to recover after a monstrous right hand from Dubois in the opening minutes of the fight.

The Olympic silver medalist had hit the canvas three times before he was unable to rise to the referee's count after being put down once again in the fifth round. That saw Dubois retain his IBF heavyweight world title.

While Joshua had given a less than kind verdict on Dubois' talents when in his corner, the two-time heavyweight champion acknowledged how his opponent was able to achieve victory following the fight. The first knock down proved pivotal in what transpired.

READ MORE: Mike Tyson admits he had no idea who boxing opponent Jake Paul was

READ MORE: Tony Bellew forced to eat his words after writing off Daniel Dubois for a second time

"First round? Overhand right, chin in the air. No defence," Joshua told BBC after the fight. "Kaboom. And it was a bit of a downhill slope from there. Tried to change the tide but it just wasn't my night.

"Yeah, and then I caught him with a good shot [in the fifth round], I think," he added. "And then I tried to go for it and I got caught with an overhand right when I was throwing the uppercut.

"Thing is, I wasn't setting up my shots. In a shootout like that, you really have to be a bit more sniper-esque. But when you've been hit a few times, it's survival mode and I want want to get him out of there and we had a shootout and he hit me."

Joshua has no intention of hanging up his gloves just yet however. "Nah. We're gladiators, we had a bad night at the office. Listen, he people want to see me fight, I'll fight, that's it," he said.

The veteran fighter was able to retain his composure after defeat on this occasion. Following his last defeat, in his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, he launched a foul-mouth rant.

"We came up short as a team," Joshua said in the ring. "You know I'm ready to kick off in the ring but I'm going to keep it respectful. Before I came here, I always say to myself I'm a fighter for life. You keep rolling the dice. I had a fast and sharp opponent, a lot of mistakes from my end.

He added: "We walk the walk come out with our head held high. We're trying to create history for British boxing and think we're doing that. Of course I want to continue fighting. We took a shot and we came up short. What are we going to do, walk away? We're going to live another day."

Promoter Eddie Hearn still has big plans for Joshua moving forwards too. The Matchroom boss has already touted fights with Dubois and Tyson Fury despite the loss.

"2025 is going to be an interesting year for Anthony Joshua, one way or the other, but he will definitely be back," said Hearn. "Whether it’s against Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury or whoever, you are going to be entertained because that was incredibly entertaining, albeit you don’t want to see your fighter get beat like that. Our interests are to make sure he leaves this sport with legacy and a huge amount of money, but also his health intact."