Beat Daniel Dubois TKO Round 9, Oleksandr Usyk Defends True Heavyweight World Title

Daniel Dubois appeared to be trying to attack Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight world boxing duel in WroClaw, Poland on August 26, 2023. (Sky Sports)

JAKARTA Oleksandr Usyk defended his true heavyweight boxing world title, after winning TKO round 9 over Daniel Dubois. The fight between the Ukrainian vs England boxers was held at Tarczynski Arena, Wrolaw, Poland on Saturday night 26 August 2023 or Sunday morning WIB.

The fight, which was delayed by the open arena, was wet because it was hit by heavy rain, was colored by controversy over Dubois' blow which brought Usyk down in round 5. The right blow that hit Usyk's stomach was considered low blow, invalid because it hit the bottom of the waist, by the referee from Puerto Rico, Luis Pabon.

"I don't think it's a low blow. My blow landed right. My victory has been seized," Dubois said, as quoted by Sky Sports.

Daam replayed television, it was seen that Dubois' blow took part in the beltline, or the waist boundary of Usyk's pants. But the referee's decision was absolute, Dubois's blow was considered illegal and Usyk was given 5 minutes to recover.

Overall, Usyk (36 years) dominated the fight over Dubois (25 years). The agility and speed of the gold-winning heavyweight at the 2012 London Olympics and the former true cruiserweight champion were not rivaled by Dubois.

Usyk's hitting popcorn finally paid off in round 8, when his combination of jabs and straight brought down Dubois at the end of the round. Dubois was still able to get up and finish the round.

Dubois' resistance ended in the early minutes of the 9th round. Again, a combination of jabs which ended with Usyk's short blow hit Dubois' chin. The British boxer, who had a bigger posture than Usyk, collapsed again. This time Dubois was unable to recover after the Pabon referee finished 10 counts. Usyk was declared to have won by TKO.

Thanks to this victory, Usyk's fighting record remained smooth with 21-0-0 (14 KOs). While Dubois suffered a second defeat, both knockouts, which tarnished his fighting record to 19-2-0 (18). Dubois' first defeat was obtained from fellow British boxer Joe Joyce, through a knockout round 10 in London, 28 November 2020.