Oleksandr Usyk has proven he’s the king of the heavyweight division after taking down Daniel Dubois in front of a vocal crowd in Wroclaw, Poland.
The Ukrainian returned to the ring for the first time since he defeated former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua 12 months ago.
BOXING | SUN AUG 27: In a title consolidating clash Oleksandr Usyk will defend his heavyweight belts against London’s Daniel Dubois at Tarczynski Arena, Wroclaw, Poland. ORDER ON MAIN EVENT ON KAYO SPORTS >
With his WBC, IBF, and WBA heavyweight titles on the line, Usyk delivered a stellar performance against the knockout artist Dubois to remain the unified champ of the heavyweight division.
But the fight was shrouded in controversy after Usyk hit the canvas in the fifth round.
A thunderous right hand from Dubois landed on the belt of Usyk and sent the champ crashing to the canvas. The referee waved the shot off as a low down and not a knockdown.
The fight was brought to a standstill for a long time as Usyk remained on the canvas against the ropes where it looked for a second like the fight may not continue.
After the fight Dubois had his say on the round five moment: “I didn’t think that was a low blow, I thought that landed. I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight.”
Promoter Frank Warren was irate and said the shot landed clean on the belt and wasn’t low before requesting it to be replayed on the big screen.
“That was a complete home town decision. He won that fight because he was not fit to go on and they gave him a couple of minutes to recover from a legitimate shot.”
Dubois trainer exploded as the replay rolled: “How is that low, it’s there for all to see. HOW IS THAT LOW? Look at it, look at it.”
Warren stated they would be challenging the result and expected a rematch to be ordered.
Fans watching on where split if the shot was clean or was indeed a low blow.
“Clean. ROBBERY,” one user wrote.
Another added: “I initially thought it was low, but one angle it looks like a clean shot to me. Dubois should be world champ right now.”
After the fight got back underway Dubois continually looked to target the body of Usyk and landed some telling shots in the seventh round but the pressure from the Ukrainian was ramped up and he wobbled the challenger with a late onslaught.
Usyk continued with high-octane pressure and put Dubois down in the eighth round with the Brit getting back to his feet just before the end of the count and then being saved by the bell.
The fight came to an end in the ninth round when Usyk dropped his challenger with a brutal onslaught.
Dubois looked at his corner and attempted to get back to his feet but the referee waved the fight off as the crowd exploded in celebration.
Usyk vs Dubois full card results
Oleksandr Usyk (c) def. Daniel Dubois via KO – round 9 to retain WBC, IBF, and WBA heavyweight titles
Denys Berinchyk (c) def. Anthony Yigit via UD 12 to retain the WBO international lightweight title
Hamzah Sheeraz (c) def. Dmytro Mytrofanov via TKO 2/12 to retain WBC silver middleweight title
Daniel Lapin def. Aro Schwarz via TKO 6/10 to win the vacant IBO continental light heavyweight title
Aadam Hamed (debut) def. Vojtech Hrdy via TKO 1/4; super lightweights