Oleksandr Usyk's victory over Daniel Dubois was tinged with controversy.
On Saturday night in Poland, the WBA, WBO, and IBF unified champion dispatched the English champion with a ninth-round knockout, but not before suffering, and had to get up from the canvas to reach that point.
It was early in the fifth round when Dubois threw a right hook straight to the stomach of the king of the heavyweights, right on the very line between the legal and the forbidden.
"(Dubois) has no power. Boxing is a tough sport, but I am big. I'm in love with boxing and the ring, but it's boxing and not ballet. It's boxing, a tough sport," said Usyk when asked if he felt the power and what he thought about when he was lying on the canvas.
The eyes of referee Luis Pabon, who this time didn't have the instant replay tool, decided that it was an illegal punch and by that rule, he had to allow up to five minutes to recover. However, replays showed that it was a borderline shot which might have been ruled as a legal blow.
According to the rule, the rule is that the hit should be above the shorts. If it touches the shorts (belt) it is already an illegal hit, unless the referee sees that the protector is too high, then he can point out exactly where the boundary zone will be. Pavon was able to mark this when final instructions were given. No fighter can win by landing a low blow, that's why there is a five minute recovery period.
If case the injured fighter cannot stand up, he loses by forfeit.
Usyk pointed to an illegal hit, and Dubois argued that it was within the allowed area. And in the end, those three-plus minutes allowed Usyk to recover from the blow that knocked the air out of him.
With this win, he improved to 21-0 with 14 KOs, Usyk not only retained his crowns but also kept alive the possibility of facing WBC champion Tyson Fury in the future. Potentially a more intriguing match than Fury vs. Dubois.