Anthony Joshua heard calling Daniel Dubois ‘s***’ just moments before his brutal fifth-round KO defeat at Wembley Stadium

Anthony Joshua called Daniel Dubois ‘s***’ just before he was knocked out in front of 98,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

The two British heavyweights faced off on Saturday night, with AJ hoping to become a three-time world champion.

However, Joshua was stunned after being knocked out in the fifth round and Dubois retained his IBF heavyweight title.

Dubois looked the sharpest and hungriest fighter from the start, knocking Joshua out in the first round, showing his raw power and raw strength.

Unfortunately for AJ, things went from bad to worse over the next four and a half rounds as he was knocked down two more times before the fight ended in destruction.

As he sat on his stool chatting with Davison before the fifth and final round, AJ could be heard talking about his 27-year-old opponent

However, Joshua remained confident he could beat Dubois right up until the final blow – telling his head trainer Ben Davison that DDD ‘S***’.

As he sat on his stool chatting with Davison before the fifth and final round, AJ could be heard talking about his 27-year-old opponent.

Joshua said: ‘We live for moments like this. Roll the dice, okay? At the beginning of this round, he’s going to come out fast. He’s going to shit in it, right?’

Boxing fans quickly jumped on social media to discuss what Joshua had said, with some feeling he was downplaying Dubois’ ability to boost his confidence.

Others found it disrespectful and “delusional” to speak of Dubois in this manner, as he had already knocked him down several times.

One fan took to social media to say: ‘I mean fighters say what they need to say to motivate themselves. Joshua clearly knows that’s not true.’

Another added: ‘This is normal. Michael Jordan said he made up things people said about him to get himself worked up. You should do and say what makes you perform with confidence, even if it means fooling yourself!’

Several others agreed, writing: ‘I think he said it to convince himself he could win. At least that’s what it sounded like to me.’

Wembley was stunned when Joshua failed to recover from a brutal right hook in the fifth round

‘AJ’ was sent to the canvas after a great counterpunch from rival Dubois

Dubois watched as Joshua struggled to get back on his feet and the match was called off

Joshua was heard calling Dynamite Dubois, who had retained his IBF title, ‘s***’

While one fan wrote: ‘Disrespecting your opponent is a mortal sin. That’s why he got beaten up by that young goat.’ Another added: ‘Daniel made him pay for his disrespect.’

Joshua, devastated by the result, spoke to the BBC after his shock defeat and explained exactly what went wrong for him on Saturday night.

He said, ‘The first round? Right hand, chin up, no defense, kaboom. And it kind of went downhill from there.’

The two-time world heavyweight champion added: ‘I tried to turn it around but it just wasn’t my night tonight.’

AJ closed the match by discussing the fifth and final round. He said, ‘I think I hit him with a good punch and then I tried again, but then I got hit with an overhead right while I was doing the uppercut.

“The thing is I wasn’t preparing any shots. In a shootout like that you really have to be a little bit more sniper-like. But once you get hit a couple times it’s survival, I’m in survival mode. I just want to get him out of there and we had a shootout and he hit me.”

However, this does not mean the end of Joshua’s career as Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has indicated that he is likely to fight again.

The two-time world heavyweight champion blamed the first round for his performance

“I’m sure I’ll use that rematch clause. He’ll believe he can hurt Dubois, he’ll believe he can beat him.”

When Joshua asked himself if this was the end for him, he said, ‘No, no, we’re gladiators. We had a bad day at the office. Listen, the people want to see me fight, I’ll fight. I’ll fight, that’s it.’