By Jim Calfa: Oleksandr Usyk’s manager Alex Krassyuk spoke of a “dirty plan” on the part of challenger Daniel Dubois with the low blows that he landed during his fight with the IBF, WBA & WBO heavywigght champion last Saturday night at the Tarczyński Arena Wrocław in Wroclaw, Poland.
In the post-fight press conference, Usyk & Krassyuk scoffed at the idea that a rematch with Dubois is required, as they intend on moving on to set up an undisputed championship fight next against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia.
That’s a fight that is expected to see Usyk receiver a career-high payday, to where even if he loses, which is highly possible given the size & body-punching ability of Fury, the money he receives will make it worthwhile.
Krassyuk says that the repeated low blows were “on purpose,” which means they were part of a “dirty plan” during the fight. Usyk was dropped hard in the fifth round by Dubois from a right hand that the referee Luis Pabon ruled was a low blow.
Usyk was hindered from the shot for nearly five minutes, creating a storm of criticism from boxing fans on social media, who felt that he was faking a low blow after getting hit in the breadbasket.
“Everyone wants the rematch after they lose, but all the respect to Daniel Dubois, who we respect as our guest and our opponent, it’s difficult to, you know, to express respect for the way they treated the fight, for the way they wanted to get the victory,” said Alex Krassyuk at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night following Oleksandr Usyk’s ninth round knockout win over Daniel Dubois.
“Well, sometimes it happens when you hit someone with an illegal blow. Yeah, it’s normal, but when you keep doing this on purpose, it means that you have some kind of dirty plan, and boxing is pure art.
“It’s a pure sport, and it has to stay that way. That’s why the guy has to deserve his rematch.”
It seems pretty clear that there won’t be a rematch without one being ordered, which seems unlikely. Even if the WBA orders Usyk to face Dubois (19-2, 13 KOs) again, he could, in theory, ignore it and go ahead and fight Fury anyway.
The money that Usyk will receive fighting Fury is too alluring to bypass it with a risky rematch with Dubois. You got to believe that Dubois would be targeting Usyk’s body with nontop right hands in a rematch, and it’s possible he could stop him.
