Laura Woods: Dubois proved he’s ‘something special’ against Joshua
Dubois deserves plaudits but long road back for AJ
I was so impressed with Daniel Dubois last Saturday. It was one of the best boxing atmospheres I’ve experienced. Wembley was incredible – the lights, the crowd, Liam Gallagher, the ring walks. It was a very impressive production.
Anthony Joshua got beat up and it shocked us all in the studio. I was sitting next to Lennox Lewis and he was up on his feet when Dubois dropped him in the first. From that minute, AJ could barely recover.
I was majorly impressed with Daniel. I didn’t hear a pundit give him a hope but to beat AJ in that fashion was something special.
As they say, in the heavyweight division anyone can get caught like that but the road back might be a long one for AJ – he’s dropped down the pecking order in the heavyweight division again and I’m not sure there’s much desire to see a rematch. Daniel will be surely chasing bigger fights now and he deserves to get them.
But there’s no doubt AJ’s still got massive commercial value. Within the industry he is still hugely respected for what he’s done for modern boxing and the influx of fans, jobs, revenue and big stadium fights.
A lot of fighters thank AJ for helping them with their careers too. Importantly – the Saudis still love him and they’re making fights happen so there will be more fights for him, it’s just what level and how much fire he has left for them.
💭 @Laura_Woodsy's 𝘿𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 is complete ✅
— BetMGM UK (@BetMGMUK) September 11, 2024
And it might not shock many which 𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙍 she's choosing to be in the dugout 👇 👀 #EPL #FPL pic.twitter.com/5DEPCuoMdY
Trossard red was right but rules are killing games
Manchester City against Arsenal was a very difficult watch for me. I sat watching with my two big brothers practically holding our breath for the entire second half.
Yes it was a red card [for Leandro Trossard], but I just don’t like the rules. I think they’re killing games.
That could have been a proper game of football where we really learned where both teams are side by side.
But once again the game gets killed off. I saw people mocking Arsenal afterwards – but at the end of the day taking a point with 10 men for half the game at the Etihad is a brilliant result for any team.
Rodri a huge loss for City
Manchester City losing Rodri is huge and I’m really disappointed for him personally too. He’s a complete professional and someone I still want to see win the Ballon d’Or.
He was an unsung hero for a while at City because we naturally praise the exciting, flair players – which is probably why Vinicius Jnr will win the Ballon d’Or – but Rodri’s contribution to club and country has been exceptional.
For City he is difficult to replace because of the way he wins back possession and dictates play, he’s intelligent, he reads the game so well and his distribution is almost always on point.
I don’t think they have another player who is up to that kind of standard who can step up to do his job the way he does it. But Pep Guardiola will have a plan – he always does!