Carl Frampton has claimed that Daniel Dubois should be heavyweight champion after he knocked Oleksandr Usyk to the floor with a controversial punch during their blockbuster fight.
The British fighter landed a heavy punch that floored the Ukrainian in the fifth round of their bout, with Usyk ultimately going on to win and retain his heavyweight belts.
It was a hard strike to the abdomen of his opponent and left Usyk reeling backwards, falling onto the ropes behind him.
The heavyweight champion could not get up and a time-out was called after the referee saw that the strike was ‘below the belt’, with the official giving him enough time to gather himself before continuing.
Yet, Frampton, who was on commentary for TNT Sports tonight believes that it was not a ‘low punch’ and that Dubois should have won the fight.
Oleksandr Usyk was knocked to the floor in the fifth round of his victory against Daniel Dubois
The Ukrainian retained his belts on the night but there was controversy after Dubois was deemed to have punched him below the belt
The incident occurred 30 seconds into the fifth round where Dubois landed a right hand on the abdomen of Usyk
Carl Frampton insisted that Dubois should be the heavyweight champion of the world
Frampton said: ‘When I saw it, it didn’t look low to me. That was not a low blow. That was a body shot.
‘He should have been counted out. Daniel Dubois should be unified heavyweight champion right now.’
‘I still don’t think it was [a low blow],’ Frampton added.
‘The shot was borderline, some referees would say it was low and others would let you get away with it.
‘For me it wasn’t low, Usyk has used his experience and taken a body shot.
‘That did not hit the part that he has led us to believe it hit him, he has taken a body shot, he has thought I can get away with pretending this is low.
‘He took a rest because he has been hit by a bodyshot.’
Former WBC super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall also spoke out against the decision claiming ‘fingers will be pointed at the referee’.
He said: ‘It was a borderline shot and there’ll be a lot of fingers pointed at the referee tonight, especially from the Dubois camp.’
The British fighter (left) went down in the eighth round of the fight with Usyk landing a hard right handed punch to down him again in the ninth
Usyk would ultimately go on to win the fight, downing Dubois in the eight and ninth round before the referee chose to stop the fight, after the champion landed a big right hand on his opponent.
Darren Fletcher added: ‘There’s a lot of discussion around our commentary position, people asking us how low the shot was.
‘There will be people who believe Daniel Dubois was robbed and people who think it was the right call.’
After the match, the London-born fighter, Dubois claimed the result was not fair, saying: ‘I have been cheated out of victory tonight.’
The fifth round punch was played again on the big screen in the venue with the fighter adding: ‘How is that a low blow.’
Frank Warren meanwhile called for a rematch claiming it was ‘total nonsense’.
‘This is a boxing match and should be above board, but it was not a low blow,’ Warren said on TNT Sports.
‘It’s a nonsense, a total nonsense. The governing bodies must order a rematch.’
He added: ‘It wasn’t a low blow. I wish they could put it up on there now and we could all see it. They didn’t take any points off him. I like Usyk, but that was a complete home decision.
‘He was not fit to go on and they gave him a couple of minutes to recover. It should be straight and it should be above board.
‘How long did he get to recover? The governing bodies will have to look at that and order a rematch. We will order appeal what’s happened here.
After the bout Dubois claimed he had been ‘cheated out of victory tonight’ and added on review of the punch ‘how is that a low blow?’
Several commentators have agreed with Dubois (right), while Frank Warren said ‘it was not a low blow’
Many have taken to social media to have their say on the punch with Charlie Edwards and Liam Smith both claiming it was a low punch
Usyk (middle) went on to call out Tyson Fury claiming that he was ‘ready’ for the Gypsy King
‘It’s all about a legitimate punch that stopped him and he should have won Everyone wants to see the unification. If Daniel had got the result then it would have been easy to do. We will see now.’
Former WBC flyweight champion, Charlie Edwards, wrote on Twitter: “More you watch it. It’s low for me. Don’t understand the major argument about it. It was well on the protector and on the waste line and below. I get Daniel is the TNT fighter. It’s a business.”
While Liam Smith also had his say on the decision, claiming that the punch ‘was low’.
He wrote on Twitter: ‘It WAS low, whether 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 whether he stays down if the ref counts it.’
The 36-year-old fighter’s record now sits at 26-0-0 and after the fight, he called out Tyson Fury claiming ‘he was ready’ for the Gypsy King.
‘I feel good,’ Usyk said when questioned about being knocked down in the fifth round.
‘Boxing is a tough sport, I am great. I respect my opponent. It is not ballet, it is boxing. It is a king sport.
‘I am ready tomorrow for Tyson Fury. Next fight, I am ready for Tyson Fury. Will Tyson Fury, I have no idea.’