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Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois are set to meet in a highly anticipated rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium in London on July 19, two years after their first encounter.
The unbeaten Ukrainian who currently holds the WBC, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine world championships emerged victorious when the two last met in Poland, stopping the current IBF world champion in the ninth round.
The bout wasn’t without controversy, as Dubois landed a shot ruled a low blow that dropped Usyk, a decision that sparked debate among fans and pundits, many of whom argued Dubois was denied a potential victory over the two-weight undisputed champion.
Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois reaction to controversial first bout
Following the defeat, the British heavyweight and his team immediately called for a rematch, believing he had been robbed of what would have been the biggest victory of his career.
“I didn’t think that was a low blow, I think that landed and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight,” said Dubois in a post-fight interview. The 27-year-old also expressed his disappointment in an interview with TalkSport, stating that the shot had been part of his preparation leading into the contest.
“I feel like I was robbed of an opportunity, that shot was definitely not low. The whole world could see, he was crippled by the body shot, I feel like I lost momentum, I became disheartened a little bit, we were practicing the body shots and we pulled it off.”
Despite protests from Team Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk and his camp maintained that the shot was clearly illegal, in a contest that was largely dominated by the southpaw.
At the post-fight press conference, Usyk and his promoter Alex Krassyuk dismissed media questions about the punch, with the Ukrainian joking that he might not bother wearing shorts in his next fight if such shots were deemed legal, before adding that he would be ready for a street fight rematch the very next day.
