Daniel Dubois is accused of “two illegal punches” before Anthony Joshua's KO | Boxing | Sport

Eddie Hearn has made allegations against Daniel Dubois that he received two illegal punches in his fight against Anthony Joshua.

Despite being knocked out by Dubois in the fifth round, Hearn pointed out moments when Dynamite seemed to have gone too far, specifically claiming Joshua was hit “in the balls” in the third or fourth round of the fight, which took place on Saturday night.

He expressed his frustration that Joshua did not fully utilize the recovery time available, but gave Dubois due credit for his convincing victory.

Hearn reflected on Joshua's resilience after the knockout: “I told him, you have to be proud that you even found a way back into the fight, because after the second round the fight is over for me, it's over.”

“Even after the last knockout, he has to fight to get back up.”

The Matchroom boss added: “He couldn't have tried an inch further. When you do that, you can look at yourself in the mirror. He went to the extreme in the trenches. People want to talk about him getting down on his knees and spitting out a gumshield.”

Additionally, Hearn expressed that the unfortunate low blows may have been due to a difference in experience, saying: “Listen, when Daniel Dubois hit him in the balls in the third or fourth round, I'm yelling at AJ to hold on for the full five minutes.

“This actually shows a lack of experience. When he could no longer get up, he was hit with full force into the chestnuts.

“He said to the referee, 'I'm fine, let's go,' and I was like, 'What are you doing?' Then it happened again. He just came to fight tonight. It was a hell of a fight. As bummed out as we are, Daniel deserves a lot of credit.”

“Tonight is his crowning moment. Although he was not named interim champion, he showed tonight that he is a true world champion. And he has a great future ahead of him.

“Of course I want to keep fighting. We tried to succeed and we failed. Should we run away now or live to fight another day? I am a warrior. Always walk with my head held high.

“We risked everything. That's 13 world championship fights, not all of them were successful, but they were all entertaining and fun. We want to make history for British boxing and I think we're doing that.”