Daniel Dubois is set to rematch Oleksandr Usyk in July for the undisputed heavyweight crown in Wembley Stadium.
Daniel Dubois seeks to right his wrongs and settle the score against the pound-for-pound great Oleksandr Usyk.
The pair first fought in 2023 when Dubois floored Usyk with a lethal shot, sending him to the canvas.
The punch was ruled a low-blow, and drama ensued, with fans, boxers, and pundits alike clamouring to have their say on whether the punch was low or legal.
Bloody Knockout has compiled a few opinions from both sides of the fence below:
Tyson Fury
Whether it was his genuine opinion or a means to instigate Usyk ahead of his own clash with him, which he went on to lose, Tyson Fury launched a post mocking Usyk’s shorts, suggesting Dubois’ shot was legal as Usyk’s shorts were on too high.
Fury’s opinion: Legal shot.
Liam Smith
Liam Smith, who lost a near-shutout decision on the Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn card to Aaron McKenna, believed the punch was low.
He said in a post on X: “It WAS low, weather his protector is high or not(which should of been pulled at the start of the fight if team Dubious felt it was high) it’s just below waistband. Ye, Usyk milked the time he was allowed but, no one can answer weather he stays down it the ref counts it.”
Smith’s opinion: Low blow.
Carl Froch
Former world champion, Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch believed the shot was low. In a video on his YouTube channel he said:
“For me, in a word, was it a low blow? The answer to that is yes. […] A low blow is below the navel.”
Froch makes the point that the referee never suggested Usyk’s shorts were too high at the start of the fight, and Dubois’ team never raised it. In Froch’s view, the shot was below the navel and, as such, was a low blow.
He also suggests that if the ref had ruled it a low blow, it doesn’t mean Dubois, who was stopped by Joe Joyce, would’ve won, as Usyk would’ve gotten up and continued.
Froch’s opinion: Low blow.
Charlie Edwards
Former world champion and brother to Sunny Edwards, Charlie also believed the shot thrown by Dubois, who was dropped three times by Kevin Lerena, was low.
He said on X: “It’s low for me.”
Edwards’ opinion: Low blow.
Carl Frampton
Former two-weight world champion and now boxing pundit, Carl Frampton has been vocally on Dubois’ side, suggesting the punch was borderline but could have and perhaps should have been allowed.
Any lower and it wouldn’t have been legal but Frampton believes Dubois landed a legal shot on the champion.
Frampton’s opinion: Legal shot.
Low or not, Dubois seeks revenge against Usyk this summer in their rematch.