HEAVYWEIGHT king Oleksandr Usyk kept his cool as a barrage of accusations, relating to the infamous low blow from their first fight, were fired by Daniel Dubois and his team.
Ahead of their eagerly anticipated rematch at Wembley Stadium, London, on July 19, the pair came face-to-face at a prickly launch press conference earlier today.
Their first clash took place in 2023, back when Usyk landed a crushing right jab to halt his rival in what was a ruthless ninth-round finish.
Since then, Dubois has enjoyed a monstrous surge, with stoppage victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua all contributing to his undeniable confidence.
‘Dynamite,’ however, still firmly believes that the shot he landed in the fifth round of his encounter with Usyk was not a low blow, but rather a legal right hand to the body.
In any case, the masterful Ukrainian drew upon every degree of his experience to emerge victorious, before entering two iconic showdowns with Tyson Fury.
Their first fight saw Usyk become a two-division undisputed champion before relinquishing his IBF strap – now held by Dubois – and once again outpointing Fury in their rematch.
So now, the 38-year-old has been presented with an opportunity to reclaim his red and gold strap and, in turn, become a three-time undisputed champion.
At today’s press conference, the low blow debate unsurprisingly resurfaced, with team Usyk presenting an array of printed images from their first fight.
Each photo, they claimed, depicts an instance where the referee failed to rule Dubois’ attack as a low blow, suggesting that multiple shots strayed below Usyk’s belt.
But despite that, Dubois still happily signed the images when prompted to do so by his opponent, who joined him in scribbling a few signatures.
In response, Queensberry Promotions boss Frank Warren uttered: “Daniel at Wembley – he’s going to make your legs go all trembly.”
Following that creative rhyme, Dubois’ head coach, Don Charles, said: “You conned the referee, you conned the boxing world.”
The trainer then questioned Usyk’s religion – given that, in his view, he is guilty of cheating – to which ‘The Cat’ responded by confirming his belief in Jesus.
