Spencer Oliver was understandably disappointed as he watched his friend Anthony Joshua suffer a KO defeat to Daniel Dubois on Saturday night.
The talkSPORT boxing pundit regularly takes flack from his co-hosts for defending AJ on air, but has always stayed loyal to his Finchley ABC pal.
As a result, Saturday night’s fight was a difficult watch for Oliver.
The former European super-bantamweight champion was on commentary for talkSPORT.
From the very beginning, the fight went against his man.
With Joshua back peddling in the first, ‘Triple D’ looped a beautiful overhand right hand which sent the Watford powerhouse tumbling to the canvas.
He was saved by the bell but looked dejected when he made his way off the stool.
In the second round, he was immediately in trouble again as Dubois landed a huge right hand and piled on the pressure.
The 34-year-old held on for dear life and saw out another round by the skin of his teeth.
However, he wasn’t so lucky in the third as he was slumped against the bottom rope by a left hook and a series of uppercuts before being downed again.
Dubois continued pursuing the stoppage like a man possessed and in the fifth he eventually got it, as Joshua opened up and went out on his shield.
AJ backed up ‘Triple D’ with two big right hands but was then caught by a clubbing straight on the way in and knocked flat on the canvas, unable to beat the count.
As he watched all of this unfold, Oliver looked devastated.
Reacting afterwards he said: “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Where does Anthony Joshua go from here? How does he rebuild?
“That was a devastating knockout there.”
Speaking post-fight, Joshua said: “Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short.
“You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring, but I’m going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent.
“I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… We keep rolling the dice.
“I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
News Summary:
- Spencer Oliver visibly gutted as he watches Anthony Joshua’s stunning KO defeat to Daniel Dubois while doing live commentary for talkSPORT
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