JEFF POWELL: Oleksandr Usyk is the rightful heavyweight champion regardless of low blow on Daniel Dubois, cease bellyaching!

Low blow or no low blow, the one doubtless rematch for Daniel Dubois would have taken place on the cobbles of this historic Polish metropolis the Sunday morning after the combat earlier than.

Oleksandr Usyk threw down that gauntlet as controversy swirled across the knockout victory which retains him and Tyson Fury on observe for a massively enriching battle for the undisputed world heavyweight championship early subsequent yr.

‘If he actually desires it once more I’ll combat him tomorrow bare-fisted on the street,’ mentioned the Ukrainian customary bearer for his nation at struggle.

By the late, late hour when Usyk made that provide, Dubois had left the constructing ‘distraught at being cheated of my dream’.

The 25-year-old Brit’s promoter Frank Warren and his new coach Don Charles took up the cudgels on his behalf.

Oleksandr Usyk (pictured) was knocked to the ground within the fifth spherical of Saturday’s bout in opposition to Daniel Dubois 

Dubois (left) landed a contentious punch on the Ukrainian fighter, which the referee deemed to be beneath the belt

Usyk (left) was given a day trip and allowed a while to get better after the punch had floored him

Warren mentioned he’ll enchantment for Saturday night time’s ‘bull***t’ to be declared a no-contest and a re-run ordered, ideally in London. Good luck with that one, Frank.

Such an consequence is as inconceivable because the mission on which Dubois had embarked in a soccer stadium crammed to the reverberating rafters with 40,000 loyal patriots.

Charles reiterated that whereas all of them maintain Usyk in ‘full respect as an amazing champion’ he’s ‘a cheat who faked it’. These two fairly incompatible statements got here after a rancorous dispute over whether or not the physique shot which despatched the champion squirming to the canvas within the fifth spherical was above or beneath the belt.

‘Low,’ decreed referee Luis Pabon as he gave Usyk virtually 4 minutes to get better and proceed along with his demolition of Dynamite Dubois. ‘Authorized,’ raged Crew Dubois as they claimed it ought to have been his KO, in firm with some cheerleaders with microphones and a majority of UK social media.

A lot depends upon the angle from which it was seen. Dubois and Co went with one {photograph} which helps their case. Usyk and his males produced one other which seems to be beneath the pale.

The uncomfortable reality from the British perspective is that it regarded low because it occurred and sluggish movement reruns make it no higher than a 50-50 name. Thus the WBA must help their referee, not least since no a part of the Dubois glove made contact with something apart from the shorts which Usyk wears low. The purple line to not be crossed runs by the stomach button.

The sub-plot is that Dubois was programmed to hunt out a perceived flaw within the under-belly of the in any other case peerless Usyk. It was a method which introduced with it the danger of straying beneath the regulation, if solely by a matter of centimetres.

Did Usyk milk it by writhing in agony to purchase a prolonged breather? Little doubt.

But when Senor Pabon had began counting as an alternative of admonishing Dubois, would Usyk have struggled to his ft in time, survived the spherical and nonetheless gone on to win? Very most likely. Would he have deserved to take action? Completely.

The heavyweight champion (proper) went on to defend his belts in opposition to Dubois, stopping him within the ninth spherical

After the bout, Dubois (pictured), who was additionally knocked down within the eighth spherical, mentioned he had been ‘cheated’ out of the match

Usyk landed a proper hand on his opponent to down him within the ninth spherical and retain his heavyweight belts

Though this was not fairly the masterclass efficiency to which Usyk handled Anthony Joshua twice, he was so dominant that Dubois gained not more than one of many rounds earlier than he succumbed within the ninth.

Having nearly crushed the rely when floored within the eighth, Dubois by no means regarded like doing so when dropped to his knees by a kind of depraved straight rights within the ninth.

The uncooked nature of Usyk’s problem to step exterior and type it out on the cobbles infers a suspicion that, by no means thoughts the stomach button, Dubois might by then have misplaced the abdomen for a chronic combat.

When it was over, the pair engaged in heated exchanges within the Dubois nook.

He claimed he had been disadvantaged of his rightful dues by Usyk’s exaggerated response to essentially the most extreme of a number of borderline blows to the physique.

The older man, nonetheless sporting all of the belts round that waist, replied: ‘That is boxing, not ballet dancing. However it’s not allowed to hit a person within the balls.’

The massive unanswered query now could be the place does Dubois go from right here?

Usyk mentioned: ‘He’s nonetheless younger and now he has this expertise of a extremely large combat. Whether or not he can come again from this to win a world title depends upon the place he’s mentally.’

Hopefully, after licking his wounds and placing all of it into perspective, this likeable lad can be of proper thoughts to come back once more.

After the match he known as out Tyson Fury claiming that he was ‘prepared’ to tackle the Gypsy King

Fury (pictured) won’t combat Francis Ngannou in October in Saudi Arabia however might come up in opposition to Usyk after that

Usyk is aware of what’s subsequent for him. Does he want Fury and to turn out to be the primary undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt period to finish his legacy of greatness?

‘Sure,’ he affirms. ‘I need him, if he desires it.’

That’s for the Gypsy King to substantiate after his October diversion right into a cross-over combat with former UFC legend Francis Ngannou within the oil-rich fields of Saudi Arabia. If not, Usyk will accommodate one other of his necessary challengers, Croatia’s undefeated Filip Hrgovic.

In the meantime, the under-belly furore has extra legs to run. So was it low? Effectively, it got here within the type of an uppercut which went by Usyk’s nether-regions.The very, very uncomfortable reality is that if I had been hit like that when the identical age as Dubois, I very a lot doubt I might be a proud father and grandfather right now.