DuBois dominated the entire fight and scored knockdowns in rounds one, two, and four before the concussive final blow that ended the fight.
Under normal circumstances, I'd say a win this conclusive that a rematch would be a hard sell.
I disagree this time for two reasons.
The first is that Joshua has done better in rematches, defeating Andy Ruiz after Ruiz knocked out Joshua, and came closer to defeating Oleksandr Usyk in their second bout, so it's reasonable to give Joshua a chance in a rematch, considering DuBois's chin is nothing to brag about himself.
The other is how Joshua was knocked out as Joshua had hurt DuBois, knocking him back into a corner Joshua moved in for what would have been one of the more sensational comeback wins in heavyweight "title" history, a dazed DuBois fired the bullet-like right hand that knocked out Joshua.
It could be promoted that Joshua could have been on his way to a win before the KO and it's plausible.
However, one thing makes an immediate rematch a problem.
The IBF doesn't allow immediate rematches and while normally, boxers would drop titles for the more lucrative fight to take place but in this case, after Oleksandr Usyk's win last year over DuBois, the IBF title is the reason for Usyk-DuBois II and without it, that rematch doesn't have the same importance.
On the undercard, undefeated middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz gave hope for some life in the division with his third straight impressive knockout as Sheeraz blasted Tyler Denny in two rounds.
Sheeraz dropped Denny in the first and finished him in the second with hammering blows to finish Denny, who upset heavily favored Felix Cash in his previous fight.
Sheeraz is the top contender in the WBC and WBO, so it's a question of whether Sheeraz and promoter Frank Warren would rather face Carlos Adames (WBC) or Janibek Alimkhanuly (IBF and WBO) for his eventual title opportunity.
Adames might be the easier fight, Alimkhanuly would bring more prestige and an easier fight to make with Warren's working agreement with Alimkhanuly's promoter Top Rank.
IBF junior lightweight champion Anthony Cacace wasn't allowed to defend his title against former featherweight champion Josh Warrington but he would lose his title should he lose the non-title fight, which defeats the purpose of the non-title fight but I digress.
Warrington won a few rounds in the first half of the bout but the smaller and older fighter wore down in the second half with Cacace dominating on his way to a unanimous decision.
Warrington tried hard but he may know the end of his career has come as he symbolically left his ring boots in the center after the decision.
Official scores for Cacace of 117-111 times two (my score) and 118-110.
Cacace must face mandatory challenger Eduardo Nunez next or be stripped of his championship.
I haven't watched the light heavyweight eliminator between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson but it's been reported as a top-class battle with Buatsi winning only a split decision despite knocking Hutchinson twice and Hutchinson losing a pomt.
The story appears to be the terrible scorecard of Grzegorz Molenda, who scored Hutchinson the winner despite the knockdowns and point deductions, which from everything I have read was ridiculous.
Scores for Buatsi at 115-110 and 117-108 and for Hutchinson 113-112.
Butasi wins a minor title and will be in the hunt for a shot at the winner of October's Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol full unification of the division.
Editor's Note: I watched Buatsi-Hutchinson and while it was an entertaining fight, I can't place how someone scored this for Hutchinson.
My score 116-109 Buatsi
Boxing Challenge
Vince Samano: 72 Pts (3)
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