Warren To Push For Usyk-Dubois No-Contest, ‘I Would Have Jumped Up If Referee Gave Count,’ Says Usyk

Frank Warren has indicated his desire to challenge Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Daniel Dubois.

The Ukrainian stopped the Brit in the ninth-round to keep his WBA, WBO and IBF titles. But in the process of doing so, the heavyweight champion had to overcome some serious adversity. A knockdown followed in round five, which was controversially deemed a low blow that left Usyk on the floor, as the latter was given over three minutes to recover.

That changed the tide of the fight, as Dubois never looked as confident again. With that being said, Warren revealed that there are plans in place to try and get the result overturned.

“The situation is that we will be lobbying the WBA to declare this as a no-contest. The knockdown which the referee said was below the belt… the punch actually landed on the waistband of his shorts.

“The criteria, as is explained at the rules meeting, waist is the mid-point of your hips. So it’s much lower. That was a legitimate blow and (the fight) should’ve been stopped.

“He got three minutes and 46 seconds recovery time, which was wrong. He got it wrong the referee and I still don’t understand, if it was a low blow, why he didn’t take any points off him.

“I don’t think (the referee’s) crooked, I think he just got it totally wrong. As a result, it should be declared a no contest in the worst case, or a rematch ordered,” Warren said 

Despite this being the case, Usyk has hit back at those suggestions. In response, the unified champion made it clear that had the referee started counting, then he would have gotten back up on his feet. Therefore, on reflection, the Ukrainian used the extra time wisely in order to reset himself.

And yet, it could simply have been an attempt by Usyk to divert attention away from suggestions that he is weak to the body. In response, this is what he had to say.

“For me, 100%, if the referee started to count, I would have definitely jumped up. I would be on my feet. It would be hard for me to recuperate and come back to my normal state, but there is no doubt that I would be up.

“It’s not a good thing when people try to get the victory using those dirty tactics. You cannot win by being dirty. You have to be clear. You better ask Daniel Dubois this question,” Usyk