On the night of August 27, a great boxing evening took place in Wroclaw. The main event was the duel of Oleksandr Usyk, who defended the world heavyweight title according to WBA Super, WBO, IBO, IBF and The Ring. The opponent was the British Daniel Dubois, whom the World Boxing Association designated as a mandatory challenger.
The fight ended with Usyk’s victory by TKO in the ninth round, but all the attention at the end of the fight was focused on the episode that happened much earlier. At the beginning of the fifth round, Dubois delivered a heavy blow, after which the champion was left on the canvas. Referee Luis Pavón shooed Daniel away and registered an illegal strike to the Brit’s groin. But the question remained: was it really an illegitimate action? Replays did not allow to fully understand the situation. The blow fell on the gum of Usyk’s shorts, but there is a version that Dubois was able to hook the bandage on a tangent, which caused Alexander’s reaction.
Usyk had to get nervous in the fight with Dubois:
Usyk has never been so evil. Alexander’s nervous but victorious battle.
Of course, heated debates raged around this moment. Some fans and pundits claim it was a clean blow to the body and consequently Dubois should have awarded the victory via knockout. The other party is sure that Usyk did not fake a groin punch and the fight was stopped on business.
Let’s take a look:
Usyk and Dubois fight
Photo: Frame of the transmission.
Usyk and Dubois fight
Photo: Frame of the transmission.
And here’s another angle:
Another angle of the controversial episode
Photo: Frame of the transmission.
Former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton, commenting on the fight, immediately described the position: “I didn’t see a cheap blow. I think Dubois should have been declared the new champion.”
Dubois himself, even after the fight, while in the ring, said that he was in fact robbed: “I don’t think it was a cheap shot. In my opinion, it was a legal coup. They deceived me, depriving me of victory. they tricked me Today I won. But you know what? I will come again.”
Understand Daniel, of course you can. He built his game plan around body shots, as this is one of Usyk’s few weaknesses. The Briton was glued to his opponent’s body throughout the fight, and by the time the tactic seemed to work, disappointment overcame him.
Dubois’s promoter, Frank Warren, was also very categorical in his assessments: “Dubois was deceived. He hit Usyk in the waist. I wish this moment would be shown on the big screen, so everyone can see how it really happened.
Dubois worked on this in the field, he saw Usyk’s weakness in this. The referee made a serious mistake. I like Alexander, but it was a home decision. Daniel won because Usyk was not ready to continue fighting. If this was a low blow, why wasn’t Dubois deducted a point?
This is a boxing match that should be fair. But there was no honesty in him. This is nonsense, just nonsense. The governing bodies will have to do something about it and schedule a rematch. We will appeal and see what happens next.”
Of course, Usyk’s side has a completely opposite point of view, and Alexander wondered why he was being accused of having very high shorts: “Wow, Usyk’s shorts were high. Comedy. Dubois lost and says my shorts were high. I can box without shorts. I respect my opponent, but this is boxing, not ballet. This is boxing, a tough sport. Did I appreciate the power of Dubois? Not me, just my groin.”
Another former world champion, Tony Bellew, drew attention to the fact that immediately after the fight Usyk’s shorts were lowered below the navel: “Your underpants should not cover the navel, because if they do, then you can hit the elastic”.
And yet, was it a low blow or is everything legit?
