Thinking about making a comeback? Be careful what you wish for as Anthony Joshua and Liam Gallagher both took a sledgehammer to their legacies and smashed them to bits within an hour of each other at Wembley on Saturday.
The Oasis frontman is fortunate hugely expensive tickets for the band’s summer shows have sold out as his singing before the big heavyweight fight has been criticised for being as flat as a pancake.
At least he lasted 15 minutes, which was more than two-time world champion AJ, who was knocked out before the end of the fifth round by Dynamite Daniel Dubois.
Joshua could have suffered an even more humiliating defeat but was saved by the bell after being sent to the canvas for the first of four times at the end of the opening round.
It was a seismic shock as AJ was the heavy 3/10 favourite to win a blockbuster which was only 2/9 to not go the distance.
The vast majority thought DDD would lose and he was big at 7/2 to win and 9/2 to do so inside the distance.
Dubois now holds all the aces as he considers his next move while he waits for the opportunity to put his IBF title on the table against the winner of December’s huge cruncher when Oleksandr Usyk defends the remaining heavyweight crowns against Tyson Fury.
A rematch with Joshua is on the cards for Dangerous Dan but he could take a fight with New Zealand’s Joseph Parker, who has recently impressed with victories against Deontay Wilder and then the mighty Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.
Fellow Briton Joe Joyce is a possibility so he can avenge one of three defeats on his record while AJ will have to start yet another reboot from scratch and the long-awaited Battle of Britain with Fury looks as far away as ever and, quite frankly, has lost a lot of its lustre.
Saturday night’s real winner, of course, was boxing and even the most patriotic fans should take off the blinkers and watch some top-bracket matches involving fighters from other countries.
Look forward to the mouthwatering rumble between IBF, WBC and WBO light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and IBO belt holder Dmitrii Bivol, who has beaten Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, in Riyadh on October 12.
The winner could be tempted to step up to heavyweight to create waves and Beterbiev is given the slight nod to triumph at 5/4 with Betfred and 7/2 with the same firm to win on points.
• Cincinnati Bengals are 4/6 to beat the visiting Washington Commanders by more than 5.5 points while the Buffalo Bills are 4/5 to win at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars by over 3.5 points. Stick them in a double with Betway and BoyleSports.
• Fleetwood are 31/20 with SpreadEx to lead HT/FT in their League Two derby with Morecambe.
MORE : Anthony Joshua responds to calls for him to retire after Daniel Dubois loss
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MORE : Oleksandr Usyk reveals Anthony Joshua ‘problem’ after Daniel Dubois defeat
