WBA upholds Usyk-Dubois decision

The World Boxing Association (WBA) ruled that the ruling of the bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois, held last August 26, will stand after having thoroughly studied the appeal made by Queensberry Promotions. The bout that took place in Wrocław, Poland, ended with victory for WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who also defended his WBO, IBF and IBO belts in that bout.

On September 4, the company representing Dubois emailed the WBA indicating that Queensberry desired to have the outcome of the bout reversed due to the referee’s action for a punch they considered low in the fifth round.

Queensberry Promotions sent all the documents with their arguments to consider a reversal of the result. These were sent to Usyk’s representatives, the IBF and the WBO. On September 12, Usyk’s team acknowledged receipt of the appeal and their response, in which they addressed their arguments and various considerations about the fight.

The supervisors of the fight were Carlos Ortiz (IBF), Ed Levine (IBO), Thomas Puetz (WBO) and Jesper Jensen (WBA). The supervisor of the WBA, Jensen, determined that referee Luis Pabón made the correct decision regarding the punch which he considered an accidental low blow.

With the supervisor’s opinion, the WBA decided to send the case to the International Officials Committee, who on September 11, issued their review and found that there was no clear and conclusive evidence that the original decision made by Pabon on Dubois’ punch to Usyk was wrong. They also concluded that no TV clip had evidence that the decision was incorrect. In addition, they asserted that “the original decision of the low blow must stand, as there is no indispensable evidence to prove otherwise.”

On the other hand, the WBA rules determine that the decision of a low blow and whether a boxer who receives it can continue are strict competences of the referee and he is the only one authorized to make these decisions.

After studying all the documents, the conclusions of all the instances and the internal rules of the WBA, it was determined that the appeal does not proceed and the decision of the fight stands with the victory and defense of the champion Usyk.

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  • Hard to believe – an honest decision in crooked boxing! This may be a first!

  • It was a legimate blow , actually you can see in usyk face it was a legal blow …why??? Because the way usyk reacted and face expression you can tell he lost his air
    if it had been an ilegal blow usyk would bend over and grab his groin or low part (ballz) ..)

    So usyk was not in pain he lost his air which is diferent I hope they revert the decicion and give the victory to Dubois

    Just what it is

    • Carlos, so Dubois was not able to land any punch of any significance on Usyk at any time during the fight, but you want and believe this one foul blow should count.

    • I remember you now Carlos. You worked for Andrew Golota for both of his fights with Riddick Bowe.

  • Fury fans don’t want him to fight Usyx, because they know deep inside that he will lose. They will find all type of excuses to get out of this fight. That was a low blow. As for Usyx’s belt being to high, they must be blind when it comes to how high Fury’s belt, it’s almost up to his armpits.

    • Roots – I know quite a few Brits and the Fury fans are actually clamoring for him to fight usyk because they know he will ko usyk.

      Usyk just way too small for him.

      Fury will use a Long jab, tie up usyk and lay on him anything he gets inside.. all that weight Laying on usyk will wear him down, then fury will ko him around rd 9.

      Easy fight for Fury honestly.

  • Good call by the WBA in this case. If any part of a punch goes below the navel, that is a low blow. Luis Pabon’s call was correct. Dubois threw some other low shots too that were not called. The only way he could beat Usyk was by fighting dirty.

  • If you twist your ankle, you sit on the ground to ease the pain, but what about seeing a big bear coming? What do you do? The same logic applies here. If the referee had considered that it was a legal blow, Usyk would have gotten up and resumed fighting after the count, and the result would have been the same. Imagine the atrocity to reverse the result and declare Dubois the winner and the new unified champion. What nerve of the people in Queensberry to make such a stupid request?

  • These AA fighters and their government dependent fans are what is ruining this once great sport. That was a clear low blow and there never should have been an investigation nor should it have ever gone this far. Dubois is a fighter with a weak mentality and he got legitimately stopped. Crying about his loss won’t change that fact.

  • A waste of time as it was never a legitimate blow. Actually, I am embarrassed for DuBois who seemed to quit.

  • I wonder why Team Lomachenko didn’t file for a reversal in the Salido fight. At least a dozen intentional low blows and that decision still stands.

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