By Mark Eisner: IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) stayed undefeated with a ninth round knockout against challenger Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) on Saturday night at the Wroclaw Arena in Wroclaw, Poland.
Usyk dropped Dubois with a short right hand in the ninth round. Dubois took a knee and was counted out. It wasn’t a big shot by Usyk, but it looked Dubois was exhausted and mentally defeated. A round earlier, Usyk dropped Dubois was a combination of shots that put the big Brit down on one knee.
After the contest, Usyk gave depressed-looking Dubois encouragement as he looked inconsolable.
In the fifth round, Dubois hurt Usyk with a right hand on the belt-line, which the referee ruled a low blow. He then gave Usyk almost four minutes to recover. If not for the time out given, Dubois would have won..
Was it a low blow or not? You decide in the comments..
Boxing live action tonight – complete card & results
- Undercard Results:
- Denys Berinchyk WON UD 12 Anthony Yigit
- Hamzah Sheeraz WON TKO 2 Dmytro Mytrofanov
- Daniel Lapin WON TKO 6 Aro Schwartz
- Fiodor Czerkaszyn LOST 8 Anauel Ngamissenguel
- Ziyad Almaayouf WON 4 Janos Penzes
- Bryce Mills WON UD 6 Damian Tymosz
- Vasile Cebotari WON TKO 6 Joel Julio
- Rafal Wolczecki WON TKO 3 Roberto Arriaza
- Nursultan Amanzholov LOST TKO 1 Lazizbek Mullojonov
Dubois explains strategy to defeat Usyk
Tonight, IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will do battle against the powerful, highly motivated Daniel Dubois in what should be an exciting contest for as long as it lasts at the Tarczyński Arena Wrocław in Wroclaw, Poland.
The live-action will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT LIVE on ESPN+.This is the 25-year-old Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) to try and pull off an upset by beating the undefeated former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) to put himself in the slot to possibly face WBC champ Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia next January.
“I’ve cleared the path now, and I’m ready to do the job,” said Daniel Dubois to iFL TV about tonight’s fight against three-belt unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland.
Dubois has been training at high altitude, working on his conditioning, and trimming down his physique. He knows that he’ll need to be in top form to defeat Usyk, who is a fast mover with excellent boxing skills.
“You saw that he was hurt,” said Dubois, reacting to Usyk saying that he was just taking it easy on Dereck Chisora in their fight three years ago in 2020. “Dereck showed how you’ve got to fight him.
“You’ve got to fight him like a mad dog in there. People don’t give me enough credit. They say, ‘Oh, he’s got a puncher’s chance,’ but I’m going to show that I can box as well, I can move.”
There’s little doubt that Dereck Chisora created the blueprint for how to beat Usyk in their fight in 2020. You can go back to the 2012 Olympics from when Artur Beterbiev fought Usyk to find the originator of the blueprint to defeat him, as that was a very close fight. Beterbiev staggered Usyk and gave him his most brutal bout in the Olympics.
“I’ve been up at high altitude, so I’ve been working on a lot more than just throwing punches or looking for one lucky shot. This is boxing for a reason. I’m ready to go all the way and do whatever I have to do,” said Dubois.
Low blow or clean shot? The debate will rage on pic.twitter.com/0XHP0JrD1I
— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) August 26, 2023