Heading into the weekend, it was hard to get all that excited for Oleksandr Usyk’s title defense against Daniel Dubois. On paper, it looked like a showdown between one of the game’s elite, in any weight class, and a mandatory with little to recommend their position.
For most of the fight, it played out that way. Usyk was levels above Dubois technically and showed it, outboxing him and peppering an often hesitant challenger with a steady southpaw jab. Usyk scored knockdowns in the eighth and ninth, the latter on a jab as an exhausted Dubois went to a knee. Dubois beat the count but referee Luis Pabon had seen enough and mercifully ended matters.
It was a moment when Pabon didn’t end matters that will remain the story of the fight.
In round five, Daniel Dubois landed a low blow that brought the fight to an extended halt.
In round five, Daniel Dubois ended a crippling body shot that should have ended the fight.
In the hours since the fight, how one saw that critical right hand is the stuff social media can never get enough of. It’s been analyzed with the care of the Zapruder film, from every angle, with lines drawn on both sides by both fans and fellow professional boxers.
Pabon ruled it a low blow and Usyk took all of the allowed five minutes to recover. Pabon’s encouragement to take more time didn’t help matters, nor did resurfaced footage of Pabon biting when Usyk indicated a low blow against Anthony Joshua that was borderline, costing Joshua precious seconds to pursue the advantage in their rematch.
Having seen the multiple angles of the Dubois shot, this corner comes down on the side of it was a low blow. Yes, it was borderline, but more of Dubois’s fist landed south of the border and the arc was up from below. It didn’t land square on the family jewels, and so for some that meant it wasn’t within the spirit of the rules.
That’s not the same as not being an illegal shot. It absolutely was a low blow but August has been a slow month in boxing. It should be a silly non-controversy but it’s not and so be it. Usyk won seven rounds on one card and six on another through eight before the finish. He was supposed to win going away and did. It gave a mediocre fight going in, and for most of its occurrence, something to talk about.
Futures: For Dubois, the controversy might have been the best thing to happen to him. Calls for a rematch should be laughed off. No one needs to see that fight again. However, the controversy is promotable for Dubois and could help him get another big payday or two. Dubois, in losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk, and a near disaster versus Kevin Lerena, has been shown to be a very limited professional. For some though, he will be a sympathetic figure for at least a little while. That’s better than just losing almost if not every round and getting stopped by a jab.
For Usyk, the fight that matters remains the unification showdown with Tyson Fury. Whether that fight will happen remains to be seen. If it’s not next, a mandatory with Filip Hrgovic is at least more interesting than the Dubois fight was going in but it’s not a blockbuster. A showdown with Deontay Wilder would be and it would give Usyk a gateway to the lucrative US pay-per-view market. Usyk’s technique, anyone’s technique, is vulnerable if Wilder lands a bomb. Usyk, who has been a once-a-year fighter for four years running, is now 36 and soon will be 37.
Let’s hope whatever is next doesn’t take another year to materialize.
Cliff’s Notes…
Oscar Collazo has as much exposure on US airwaves as any strawweight in memory. The Puerto Rican titlist made easy work of Garen Diagan as expected. Can he find opponents to build on his exposure? The options for such might have to come in higher weight classes…Jared Anderson’s ceiling is yet to be determined but he continues to win and it won’t be long before contention becomes a serious matter…While Anderson worked the main event, the best heavyweight on the card was probably Bakhodir Jalolov. The Olympic gold medalist might just be the king in waiting for the whole class sooner than later.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com