Usyk vs Dubois LIVE: Results after controversial low blow and knockout
Re-live updates after Usyk retained the unified heavyweight titles against the Briton in Poland
Oleksandr Usyk retained the unified heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois on Saturday, in a hugely controversial fight in Poland.
Usyk dropped Dubois at the end of the eighth round and did the same in the ninth, with referee Luis Pabon waving off the bout after the second knockdown. However, many viewers felt that Dubois was denied a genuine knockout win in the fifth round. Ukrainian Usyk crumpled to the mat after a right hook to the body by Dubois, with the punch appearing to land right on the belt line. But Pabon ruled it an illegal shot, suggesting it was a low blow.
Rules dictate that a fighter is allowed five minutes to recover from such a punch, and Usyk, 36, used four of them before resuming the main event in Wroclaw’s Tarczynski Arena. Usyk even told Pabon that he was ready to continue, but the referee urged the southpaw to take more time.
In the following rounds, Usyk turned the screw, fighting well behind his jab and increasingly crafting combinations that troubled Dubois, 25. The Briton then hit the mat after a flurry of straight shots from Usyk at the end of the eighth round, before going down again due to a jab in the ninth. Although Dubois made it back to his feet, Pabon waved off the fight.
Re-live updates from Usyk vs Dubois and all undercard fights, below.
Usyk vs Dubois LIVE
Here’s our main-event report from tonight’s controversial fight:
Major controversy as Oleksandr Usyk beats Daniel Dubois after ‘low blow’ body shot
Usyk was granted four minutes to recover from a ‘low blow’ in Round 5 – a punch that appeared to land legally
Usyk vs Dubois LIVE
Usyk, as expected, has called for Tyson Fury to be his next opponent.
Usyk vs Dubois LIVE
Dubois in the ring: “I didn’t think that was a low blow. I thought that landed, and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight. But, you know, what else can I say?”
Usyk vs Dubois LIVE
One of the only weaknesses Usyk has shown in the past has been to his body.
He was shaking after hitting the canvas in the fifth round.
Usyk vs Dubois LIVE
Usyk is asked about Dubois’s power: “No, only my b***s [felt it].”
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