The head of the WBC, following the WBA, officially confirmed the legitimacy of the victory of the Ukrainian champion
The president World Boxing Council (WBC) Mauricio Suleiman officially expressed his position regarding the “controversial” blow, which the British challenger Daniel Dubois hit the Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk in the fifth round of a recent fight.
“In Poland, Oleksandr Usyk, who is the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight champion, defended his titles against Briton Daniel Dubois.”
“In the fifth round, Dubois landed a punch on Usyk that landed squarely in the waistband of his boxing shorts, which is an obvious low blow, after which Usyk fell to the floor of the ring.”
“Unfortunately, only the WBC uses the instant video replay rule, which was not applied in this case,” Suleiman said.
Thus, the head of the WBC, following the World Boxing Association (WBA), officially confirmed the legitimacy of Usyk’s victory.
Recall that in the fifth round of the fight, which took place in Wroclaw in the late evening of August 26, Usyk was on the floor after Dubois struck below the belt to the Ukrainian. The referee gave Alexander time to recover, after which the fight continued. Dubois stated that the kick was clean and he was stripped of a legitimate victory.
Frank Warren, Daniel Dubois’ promoter, said the Briton’s team “will seek the WBA to declare this fight a no contest.”
According to Ukrainian promoter Oleksandr Krasiuk, Dubois’s appeal has no chance of success.
At the end of the eighth round, Usyk knocked down Dubois, but the Briton managed to get up and continue the fight. And in the ninth round, the Ukrainian knocked out the Briton after another accurate blow.
After the fight, Alexander said that he intended to relax and spend time with his family. For his next fight, the Ukrainian challenged WBC champion Tyson Fury. Representatives of Alexander and the Gypsy King are negotiating a duel in early 2024.
Usyk defended his WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO titles for the second time. For the Ukrainian undefeated boxer, this victory was the 21st in the professional ring, the 14th time Usyk ended the fight ahead of schedule. Dubois suffered the second defeat of his career.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
