Former world champion Carl Frampton believes that Daniel Dubois deserved to be declared the winner against Oleksandr Usyk.
The Briton arrived in Wroclaw, Poland as the underdog mandatory challenger against the unified IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion, and for the early stages of the fight, he looked likely to be outclassed.
However he showed a determined focus to attack Usyk’s body where possible and sent Usyk to his hands and knees with a fierce right-hander to his midriff.
Dubois said he then expected Usyk to be counted out by the referee, but instead Luis Pabon ruled the punch to be a low blow, and allowed the Ukrainian several minutes to recover against the ropes.
Dubois, his trainer Don Charles and promoter Frank Warren, all agreed that they had been on the receiving end of the wrong decision, and Warren wanted a rematch to be ordered by the sport’s governing bodies.
Speaking on TNT Sports after the fight, Frampton backed up their opinion that it was the wrong call from Pabon.
"That was not a low blow. That was a body shot. He should have been counted out. Daniel Dubois should be unified heavyweight champion right now," Frampton said.