Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine on Saturday retained his world heavyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of the UK’s Daniel Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland.
Victory meant Usyk kept hold of the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
It also extended his perfect professional record to 21 wins from 21 bouts.
Photo: Reuters
Yet Dubois said he had been “cheated” out of victory after referee Luis Pabon ruled he had struck Usyk with a low blow in the fifth round, which led to a lengthy delay.
However, former WBC super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall, commentating at ringside, described his fellow Briton’s punch as a “borderline shot.”
Usyk recovered to drop Dubois down on one knee in the eighth round after landing with several punches to the head.
Dubois just beat the count before the bell sounded for the end of the round, but the fight was all over in the next, with Usyk sending Dubois onto the canvas.
This time the challenger was unable to get back to his feet before the referee counted to 10.
“I feel good. I am grateful for my team, my family, my children. I love you,” Usyk told TNT Sports.
“I’m grateful for my country and the Ukrainian army. Thank you so much.”
However, Dubois was adamant his punch in the fifth round was legitimate, saying: “I didn’t think that was a low blow, I thought it landed and that I’ve been cheated out of it tonight. I’ll come again.”
“It wasn’t a low blow. I wish they could put it up on there now and we could all see it,” veteran promoter Frank Warren said. “I like Usyk, but that was a complete ‘home’ decision. He was not fit to go on and they gave him a couple of minutes to recover... The governing bodies will have to look at that and order a rematch.”
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