Israel Adesanya 'curse' hits Anthony Joshua as the UFC star loses four out of his last five boxing bets
The 'Izzy curse' has been the talking point of the combat sports community lately. Fans pointed out that UFC star Israel Adesanya's bets on several boxing fights have seemingly backfired.
Most recently, he placed a bet on Anthony Joshua to emerge victorious in his bout against Daniel Dubois on Sept. 21. 'AJ' lost the fight for the IBF heavyweight title via knockout in the fifth round. Several fans speculated on the alleged curse on social media and pointed out a pattern of Adesanya's betting choices resulting in losses.
Check out a fan post on X below:
In June, Adesanya placed a bet on Deontay Wilder to win by knockout against Zhilei Zhang. However, Zhang shocked everyone with a fifth-round knockout victory over Wilder.
Additionally, 'The Last Stylebender' also placed a bet on Francis Ngannou in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury in October 2023. While Ngannou put on a gritty performance, he lost the fight by split decision.
That being said, not all of Adesanya's bets have yielded unfavorable results. The former UFC middleweight champion picked Joseph Parker to emerge victorious against Zhang and the New Zealand boxer won the fight by majority decision and claimed the WBO interim heavyweight title.
Furthermore, Adesanya also picked Devin Haney to knock out Ryan Garcia in April. While Garcia won the fight by majority decision, the result was later ruled a no-contest after 'KingRy' failed a drug test.
Check out Israel Adesanya's bets below:
![Israel Adesanya's bets on fights [Images courtesy: @stylebender on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/09/b7b43-17269767978730-1920.jpg?w=500)
As for Joshua, the UK boxing star recently succumbed to a devastating knockout loss against Dubois. 'AJ' was knocked down multiple times in the fight but rallied to mount a comeback in the fifth round.
However, he overextended in a sequence to push Dubois against the ropes and was trapped by a powerful overhand right that closed the show. With the win, Dubois improved his record to 22-2 and retained the IBF heavyweight title.