Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois could be remembered as the “no low blow” fight.
Usyk knocked out challenger Daniel Dubois in the ninth round to retain his three heavyweight belts in front of what amounted to a home crowd Saturday night in Wroclaw, Poland, not far from Usyk’s war-torn country of Ukraine.
However, that’s not what fans were talking about afterward. Indeed, the topic of discussion was a bizarre, unforgettable fifth round, in which Dubois arguably should’ve been crowned champion.
Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) controlled the action almost the entire way with his sharp jab and accurate combinations, which gave him a big lead on the scorecards after eight rounds.
"I've been cheated out of victory"
Daniel Dubois reacts to the controversial shot that was called a low blow where Usyk took four minutes to recover 🗣
Do you believe it was a legal shot? 🤔
🎬 @boxingontnt #UsykDubois | #DanielDubois | #BoxingNews pic.twitter.com/SZmSU1fB1b
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) August 26, 2023
Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) was competitive but was clearly outworked by a better, more experienced boxer to lose round after round in the one-sided battle.
However, Usyk arguably should’ve lost the fight and his belts in Round 5. A right from Dubois landed squarely on the beltline — just below the top of Usyk’s trunks — about 30 seconds into the round and the wounded champion collapsed to the canvas in pain.
Referee Luis Pabon immediately ruled it a low blow and then gave Usyk five minutes to recover from the “foul.” Usyk took most of the time allotted with the encouragement of Pabon, who strangely seemed to ignore the fighter when he said after three-plus minutes, “I’m ready.”
After that, Usyk, completely recovered, went back to dominating the fight.
The Ukrainian, fighting in front of many war refugees from his country, put a tiring Dubois down for the first of two times with a flurry of shots to the head in the final seconds of the eighth round.
Then, in the final round, a short right hand from the southpaw put Dubois on the canvas again. He seemed to be in the process of getting up when Pabon stopped the fight 48 seconds into the round, igniting a celebration by Usyk and his handlers.
The champion didn’t address the fifth-round knockdown in his post-fight interview other than to indicate that he didn’t feel Dubois’ power except when he went low, saying, “Only my balls.”
Dubois and his promoter, Frank Warren, made it clear that they believe the 25-year-old Londoner was robbed of the championship.
“I didn’t think it was a low blow,” Dubois said. “… I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight. What else can I say?”
Said Warren, who was outwardly angrier than his fighter: “That’s all they worked on in camp, working to the body. They saw that as a weakness. He got caught and that referee got that badly wrong, badly wrong. … I like Usyk, but that was a home-town decision, a complete home-town decision.
“He won that fight because [Usyk] was not fit to go on. He gave him I don’t know how long, a couple of minutes, to recover from a legitimate shot.”
A victory is a victory, however. Usyk can now look forward to a bigger and better thing, namely fellow belt holder Tyson Fury in a showdown for the undisputed championship.
The two were expected to meet this past spring but negotiations stalled over terms for a potential rematch. Now the fighters reportedly are in talks to fight this winter in Saudi Arabia, perhaps on the same card as a fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Fury would have to get past MMA star and boxing newbie Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28 first.
Usyk was asked about the possibility of meeting Fury, who confronted him in the ring after the fight on Saturday.
“I’m ready tomorrow for Tyson Fury,” he said in English. “I’m ready, next fight. But does Tyson Fury want [it]? I don’t know. But I’m ready.”
