He’s tall, big, strong and has all the attributes a heavyweight boxer should have but time and time again he doesn’t make his gifts count when he should.

English heavyweight Anthony Joshua was ignominiously battered and punished on Saturday night by Daniel Dubois who knocked out the big Brit in the fifth round of the IBF Heavyweight contest in London’s Wembley Stadium.

This follows the defeat he suffered last year at the hands of the 168-pound Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr. In that fight, Joshua was knocked out. 

Ruiz Jr looked fat and out of shape and Joshua should have put him on his back by Round 5, but he failed to use his height and reach and the fight was stopped in the seventh round after Joshua was knocked down three times. He lost his world title and was humbled.

Yesterday was an opportunity to make amends to show the world that he was not just hype but the real deal, instead Daniel Dubois gave Joshua a severe beating.

Joshua, who stands at six feet six inches and weighs in at 252 pounds, was the favourite here.

At 27, Dubois from Greenwich, England is in his prime and already has a record of 20 KOs. He managed to diffuse Joshua’s jabs and kept coming forward throwing punches. All night long, he looked the hungrier fighter.

Just as the first round was closing, Dubois caught Joshua flush on the jaw and dropped him onto the canvas.

In the second round, Dubois made Joshua look like damaged goods, Dubois easily getting through his defences and landing big hits, time and time again. After absorbing those punches, Joshua was lucky to make it to the third round.

During the third, after receiving a barrage of punches, Joshua’s legs wobbled like jelly, as another haymaker sent him crashing to the canvas. It was beginning to look like a nightmare for the fancied heavyweight, his mind befuddled, subjected to pain and punishment before the capacity Wembley crowd who sensed it would be all over soon as they witnessed a possible upset.

The fourth round saw Joshua on his backside again, his impressive physique counting for nothing as Dubois dismantled him. He managed to stay on his feet only to take even more heavy punches and more pain. The referee should have stopped it in the fourth but probably thought he would give Joshua an opportunity to turn things around.

That would not happen.

Joshua continued to get battered from pillar to post and was just about able to stand on his feet. This was a humiliation. To his credit, Joshua landed punches and did not readily submit to his fate.

Come the fifth round, Dubois sensed he had his man and pressed ahead. Joshua threw a punch that landed and backed Dubois up. Could he turn it around and knock out the unfancied Dubois?

No, he could not. Joshua, with his defences down again, got caught on the chin and was knocked out. It’s not pleasant to see a 252-pound giant unable to get back on his feet, face first, prostrate on the canvas, his dreams in tatters.

Anthony Joshua was supposed to be the next great British heavyweight, following in the footsteps of Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis. Like them, he looked the part but Dubois exposed his glass jaw.

Daniel Dubois absolutely destroyed Anthony Joshua. After the Ruiz Jr embarrassment and now this pounding at the hands of Dubois, Joshua at 34 must seriously consider packing it in. He didn’t look the real deal Saturday night and his shortcomings were exposed.

Boxing, particularly in the heavyweight division, has seen better days. The eras of Ali, Holmes, Tyson are over. We are now in an era of hype and little talent. None of these guys are true warriors. What we are served up are YouTube personalities, amateurs put up as genuine heavyweight kings.

Joshua now must join the list of pretenders who flatter to deceive. Both he and his manager Eddie Hearn have said that he will continue to fight.

But what are his options? A fight against the Gypsy King Tyson Fury now looks unlikely and Oleksandr Usyk will not view him as a significant challenge worth taking on. It’s best Anthony Joshua throws in the towel, perhaps take up acting or continue with his successful business career.

Like that other preening British pretender, David Haye, it’s all flash and no substance. 

Deep down, Joshua knows it’s time to step away from top-tier boxing.

His time has come and gone.