The moment when Alexander Usyk suffered a scandalous defeat from Daniel Dubois. Photo: Getty Images/Gabriel Kuchta
It was a low blow. from Daniel Dubois, who defeated Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Poland in a fifth round fight for the heavyweight title.
The champion went down on a body shot that many thought was legitimate, and while there were theories in the Dubois camp that Usyk may have seized the moment to recover and keep his belts, replays show that referee Luis Pabon was right.
Was there ever a moment in round five when Usyk, who took a few minutes to recover and was clearly in pain, wondered if his opponent would be disqualified?
The referee was right to give Usyk time to recover. The counterargument of those who disagree is that these minutes — erroneously — deprived Dubois of the opportunity to fight at the decisive moment of the duel, when the challenger could capitalize on a famous victory abroad. The bottom line is that Pabon made the right choice.
As always, controversy reigned in yet another dramatic fight night — this time at a huge stadium in Wroclaw, Poland, where 35,000 predominantly Ukrainian fans chanted their national hero . to victory in the pouring rain. The blow was considered accidental, so the referee Pabon did not deduct a point from Dubois, and gave Usyk up to five minutes to recover.
Usyk took his time, used four minutes of this period to recover, protested and shook his head, gesticulated with shaking hands that he was very hurt, and then won by knockout in the ninth round. He also defeated Dubois in the eighth round in a thrilling fight that was never boring, although Usyk won all but one of the rounds.
There were two minutes and 49 seconds left in the round when Usyk fell from the pain of the blow, and it is believed in the Dubois camp that if Pabon decided to give Usyk a 10 for the fall — or if he forced him to continue — Dubois would have had time to win champion, and the belts may have returned home to the UK. But Pabon's decision was made, and Usyk went to victory.
What the WHOLE boxing world is talking about now 🤨#UsykDubois pic.twitter.com/OlTEyhzsee
— Boxing on TNT Sport (@boxingontnt), August 26, 2023
After that, a debate broke out that divided opinion in the boxing world. Was it a robbery, as promoter Frank Warren claimed, and will the result be appealed? Warren, Dubois' promoter, then insisted that Queensberry Promotions would petition the World Boxing Association (Dubois was the mandatory contender for the belt from the sanctioning body) and that the WBA should declare the fight a «no contest» or even call for an immediate rematch. . They are convinced that Pabon was wrong, and he was influenced by the crowd, the case and the «home» fighter, who is the national hero of the country defending its territory from the Russian invasion.
Referee Pabón, the third player in the ring, instantly considered him short. In my opinion, the Puerto Rican, a highly respected official who also oversaw the fight between Usyk and Anthony Joshua in the Middle East last August, made the right choice. Technically, Pabon was absolutely right, and the replays showed it. Yes, Dubois was hitting the champion's body throughout the fight. Yes, Usyk noted everywhere that, in his opinion, Dubois often loses, and he was indeed warned more than once.
But that blow in the fifth round that knocked down Usyk fell below the navel. Hits below the navel are considered low in boxing, which is why the referee's decision will be upheld even if an appeal is made to the sanctioning body. If the WBA takes no action, Usyk will either have to face his next mandatory challenger, IBF number one contender Filip Hrgovic, or go for an undisputed fight with Tyson Fury, the WBC champion, which is already being discussed in the first third. 2024. It's a fight we all want to witness.
Despite the loss, DuBois — ten years younger than the 36-year-old — exposed the core of the champion's weakness, targeting the body throughout the contest. In his amateur career, Usyk was taken down by body shots, and in the Usyk-Dubois fight it was no secret that the Londoner was working on a strategy to close the distance and hit his opponent's midsection.
This will not go unnoticed by Fury and his training team. Perhaps this is the kryptonite that can be countered by the still undefeated three-belt master champion known as «The Cat».
Daniel Dubois' trainer accuses Alexander Ujsk of cheating and encourages War to take up boxing 
Daniel Dubois thought this hit, which was considered a low blow, was fair
Gareth A. Davies, in Wroclaw
Daniel Dubois' coach Don Charles accused Oleksandr Usyk of «cheating and feigning injury» after the Ukrainian's controversial victory to retain three world heavyweight belts, and urged the boxing authorities to introduce the Var system used in football.
The British heavyweight knocked down his opponent Usyk with a hard punch to the stomach in the fifth round, and promoter Frank Warren insisted that Dubois had been «cheated» and forfeited the win and that the World Boxing Association should declare Usyk a knockout in the ninth round. No fight and a rematch set.
Charles, who devised Dubois' strategy to target Usyk's body, said: «It's called pretending, and the referee fell for it. I trust Frank Warren to file a complaint. I have no words. The fight ended in the fifth round and we were taken out of it. Period.
“We have technology like Var, it's used in football, it's used in tennis. Why not move it to boxing to prevent this kind of thing? I hate to moan, but we should be sitting here with these straps on.
“When the referee came into our room before the fight to read our rules to us and asked us, ‘Is there anything you want? Request?» I said, «Yeah, make sure Usyk's groin guard is in the right place» because I know he wears it high. He always pretends that the opponent fighter has hit him low, he does this in most of his fights, this is his trick and should be rooted out.»
Former heavyweight title challenger Derek Chisora also believes the Var system should be used. “I'll be honest about it. Do you know what they need to do now? We need Var to get into boxing right now. We need to bring Var into boxing because at the moment Daniel has lost the fight. Dubois forfeited his world title and £20 or £30 million for his next fight.»
After the contest, Dubois added: “I don't think it was a low blow. I think it happened and I was stripped of the win tonight. What else can I say? At the time it was just confusion. After that, I became disheartened and lost momentum, I had to get back into the fight and try to push him.
“I encountered it in enemy territory, but I did not go beyond my league. If it were in England, things would be very different. Circumstances matter a lot: home territory, home advantage.”
Meanwhile, Usyk gave his version of events at a post-fight press conference. “If you want to know what kind of pain it is, I need to hit you so that you feel it, but I'm not going to do this, because I have no intention of hurting people. You can hit the liver or the stomach, but when it goes a little lower, as if something is burning inside. Yes, it just hurts; you just have to get through it and move on.
“How can I be guilty of wearing shorts? The low blow comes not from wearing these shorts, but from the low blow itself,” he said, and then added with a smile: “I am ready to fight without shorts.”
Promoter Usyka Alex Krasyuk left. In addition, Dubois deliberately targeted Usyk from the waist down. “It is difficult to express respect for the way they reacted to the fight. For how they wanted to win,” he said.
“Sometimes you hit someone illegally, that's fine. If you keep doing it on purpose, then you have some kind of dirty plan.
“Boxing is a pure art. This is a clean sport and should be kept clean. That's why this guy should deserve a rematch.»
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