Eddie Hearn has weighed in on the controversial low-blow debate that has dominated the post-fight talk since Oleksandr Usyk beat Daniel Dubois out in Poland.
Usyk successfully defended his WBA, WBO and IBF world titles for a second time when knocking out Dubois in the ninth round.
One of the main discussions since has been whether or not Dubois caught Usyk with a low blow in the fifth round. It was his only real moment of potential success on a hard night that saw him struggle to get into range and land anything of significance.
As the days have passed, boxing fans, pundits, fighters and referees seem to be split down the middle as to whether or not the shot was legal.
Speaking to Matchroom Boxing, Hearn said it was low.
“It hit his protector. The bulk of that knuckle, that fist, was very close to a very dangerous area.”
That said, Hearn still thinks Usyk made the most of the chance for a rest. He also gave his opinion on whether or not the unified champion would have made a referee’s count had the shot been deemed legal.
“Did he milk it? 100%. Was he lucky because if it was a couple of inches higher perhaps he might not have got up. Would he have got up if he needed to? Yes, I think so.”
Next up for Usyk is a mandatory defense of his belts against Filip Hrgovic, which Hearn expects to be ordered soon, while Dubois will have to rebuild and plot a new route back to world title contention – that is unless his team’s appeal to the WBA to have a rematch ordered is successful.