DANIEL DUBOIS claimed he was “cheated” out of world title glory after a contentious punch was deemed an illegal blow during his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Challenger Dubois, 25, floored unified heavyweight champion Usyk, 36, in the fifth round of their clash in Poland on Saturday night.
The blow landed on or slightly below the belt line and it was hard to see whether or not it was a legal punch.
But the referee sided with Usyk – who collapsed in a crumpled heap on the canvas – as the Ukrainian was given four minutes to recover.
If it had been deemed a valid punch, the referee could have counted Usyk out had he not got back to his feet before he reached 10.
As it was, Usyk was given time to recover and went on to drop Dubois twice on the way to a ninth-round stoppage.
But Dubois and his team were furious with the decision after the fight.
When interviewed in the ring, the British heavyweight said: “I didn’t think that was a low blow. I have been cheated out of victory, what else can I say?
“I have been cheated out. That was a win tonight. I will come again.”
Meanwhile, Dubois’ promoter, Frank Warren, was even more raging as he called for an appeal to be lodged.
He said: “He has been cheated out of it. That is all he worked on in camp, work to the body.
“The referee got it badly wrong. Home town decision, complete home town decision. He won that fight, he [Usyk] was not fit to go on.
“That was not a low blow, it is a nonsense, a total nonsense. The governing bodies will have to do something about it and order a rematch.
“How can they not appeal what has gone on here and see what happens? Justice has not been done.
“It is all about a legitimate punch that he has been working on, and that should have been the end of the fight. That was b******.”
The win was Usyk’s 21st as a professional as he maintains his perfect record.
Dubois now has a second defeat on his record to go with his loss to Joe Joyce three years ago.
