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.