Daniel Dubois claimed he was ‘cheated out of victory’ after his fifth-round right hand to the body was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon.
Dubois landed the bolo punch right on Usyk’s waistband and the Ukrainian WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF champion immediately dropped to the canvas.
However Pabon judged it as a low blow and gave Usyk minutes to recover. After recomposing himself, Usyk then stopped Dubois in the ninth.
But the beaten challenger said: “I didn’t think it was a low blow. I think it landed legally. I’ve been cheated out of victory, what else can I say?
“I’ve been cheated. That was a win tonight but you know what? I’ve got to come again.”
His trainer Don Charles roared: “How is that low? It’s there to be seen. How is that low? That’s my question. Look at it.”
Meanwhile, promoter Frank Warren called on the governing bodies to order an immediate rematch given the controversial end to this clash.
Warren said: “He was cheated on the victory, it hit him on the waistband. I wish they could put it on the big screen and let the whole place look at it.
“We can play that back and show it to everybody. That’s all he worked on in camp, working to the body, he saw that as a weakness. The referee got it badly wrong.
“I like Usyk but that was a hometown decision. Daniel won that fight because Usyk was not fit to go on. They gave him a couple of minutes to recover from a legitimate shot.
“Usyk is a hero, we all love Ukraine and how you’re fighting. But this is a boxing match and it should be straight and above board. That was not above board.
“It’s a nonsense, a total nonsense. The governing bodies will have to do something about it and order a rematch.”