Nearly two years on, the low blow thrown by Daniel Dubois against Oleksandr Usyk is still a hot topic.
Dubois met Usyk in Poland for the unified heavyweight titles back in August 2023, suffering a ninth round stoppage defeat in his first world title opportunity.
In the fifth round, ‘DDD’ had dropped Usyk with what he thought was a body shot, only for it to be ruled as a low blow by the referee, something that Dubois has disputed to this very day.
Another man that knows Usyk well is Tyson Fury, a former world heavyweight champion in his own right who had two fights with the Ukrainian in 2024, losing both of them on points.
It’s safe to say that Fury disagreed with the low blow decision, as he once told Sky Sports that he thought the knockdown should have stood for Dubois.
“I thought he lost [to Dubois] and he quit so he’s a little, quitting [coward].
“And once you quit once you’lll always quit, just like we saw with Dubois. He quit too, so that was two quitters fighting each other.
“It’s tough to say somebody’s quit but Usyk quit with a body shot and rattled around the floor like a little [coward] for five minutes and the other one quit with a jab. But the truth is the truth and that’s it.
“I’ve been hit full-on, right [below the belt] with the hardest punches you’ve ever seen, I didn’t roll around like that.
“It is what it is, you’re a fighting man or you’re not and if you quit once, you will always quit again. My father told me that when I was a child. If you spew it once you’ll always spew it and that’s the facts of the matter. End of.”
Dubois will get a chance to gain revenge against Usyk when the meet again at Wembley Stadium on July 19. It will be for undisputed honours on this occasion, with Usyk holding the WBC, WBA and WBO titles, while Dubois is the IBF champion.
As for Fury, he is currently retired, but has been continuously linked to a return to the ring, potentially against long-term rival Anthony Joshua.
