Daniel Dubois feels ‘cheated’ out of victory by Oleksandr Usyk, who was down from a ruled low-blow in their contest before regaining control and stopping the Brit in the ninth.
The much-debated shot was Dubois’ only real moment of success in the fight, and saw the Ukrainian take over three minutes to recover as granted by the referee.
That shot and its legitimacy have consumed the debate post-fight, with promoter Frank Warren set to lobby for a rematch and trainer Don Charles branding Usyk ‘a cheat.’
Eddie Hearn, who has promoted Usyk five times now, most recently his two wins over Anthony Joshua, has no doubt in his mind that the shot from Dubois was low.
“The entire fist was below the naval. The bottom knuckles miles below – it hit his protector – low blow.”
Since the fallout, Usyk has been accused by some of acting similarly in the second ‘AJ’ fight by pretending shots are lower than they really land.
Whilst the Brit’s team ready their appeal, Usyk’s side will not budge on their view that the shot was an illegal blow. In fact, they believe Dubois was landing as such throughout the fight, and had tactics to bend the rules.
The WBA has not yet commented on the decision by referee Luis Pabon or Warren’s intention to lobby for the rematch. As things stand, Usyk is unified champion with a record of 21 wins, and it’s likely to stay that way.
Next up is Hearn co-promoted Filip Hrgovic, who is the IBF’s mandatory challenger. He will be facing Usyk unless a deal can be made for the Ukrainian to instead pursue an undisputed fight against Tyson Fury.