Daniel Dubois says he was 'cheated' after beating Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk eventually defeated Daniel Dubois, but the fight was not without huge controversy. Credit: Reuters/Kacper Pempel

Daniel Dubois believes he was 'cheated' into not becoming the last British heavyweight champion after controversially denying Oleksandr Usyk a knockout win.

Greenwich-born fighter , landed a body shot in the fifth round that left the Ukrainian heavyweight champion floor. But referee Luis Pabon dismissed the blow as a low blow and gave Usyk time to recover.

Dubois eventually lost the fight, falling to his knees in the eighth round before failing to beat Pabon's count in the second. ninth place after being knocked down by Usyk.

But the 25-year-old remained confused in his post-fight interview, which led his promoter Frank Warren to even book a rematch.

«I don't think it was a low blow,» he said. Dubois TNT Sports. after the defeat. “Tonight I was deceived and deprived of the victory. It was a victory. I'll be back.»

Usyk was knocked out by Dubois, but it was ruled as a low blow, much to the surprise of Brit's annoyance Photo : Getty Images/Gabriel Kuchta

What the WHOLE boxing world is talking about now 🤨#UsykDubois pic.twitter.com/OlTEyhzsee

— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) August 26, 2023

Dubois was warned by the referee but not warned Pabon earned points for an alleged low blow, and Usyk complained during the fight about the Briton's attempts to hit the body below the belt.

“Boxing is a tough sport, but I'm great. I like boxing. I respect my opponent, but this is boxing, not ballet. This is the royal sport,” Usyk replied when asked about the low blow.

But promoter Dubois Warren was indignant: “It was not a low blow. I wish they could put it up there now and we could all see it. They didn't deduct a single point from him. I like Usyk, but it was purely a home decision.

“He was unable to continue playing and was given a couple of minutes to recover. It should be straight and above the board. How long did it take to recover?

“The governing bodies will have to look into this and schedule a rematch. We will appeal what happened here. It's all about the legitimate strike that stopped him and he should have won. Everyone wants to see the unification.

“If Daniel had a result, it would be easy to do. We'll see now.”

Warren added: “He hit him [Usyk] in the waist. That's all he worked on in the camp — work on the body, we see it as a weakness. He was caught, and the judge made a big mistake.

«If it's a low blow, why didn't he take off his glasses? I like Usyk, but it was entirely a hometown decision. He [Dubois] won that fight because he [Usyk] wasn't ready to keep fighting. The referee gave him a couple of minutes to recover, I don’t know how much, after a legitimate blow.

“This is a boxing match, and everything should be fair, but it wasn’t fair.” . It wasn't a low blow. This is complete nonsense. The governing bodies will have to do something about it and schedule a rematch. How can you not order a rematch based on this? He won.