Tyson Fury has taken to social media to mocked his heavyweight rival Oleksandr Usyk following the Ukrainian’s controversial world title victory over Daniel Dubois.
Dubois landed a heavy body shot that floored the Ukrainian in the fifth round of their bout but Usyk went on to defend his IBF, WBO and WBA belts after being given ample time to recover.
Usyk was visibly hurt by the strike to his abdomen and lay on the canvas gasping for air before the referee stepped to state the blow was ‘below the belt’. As a result, the Ukrainian heavyweight enough time to gather himself before continuing.
Many felt the punch was in fact legal, especially given the fact Dubois team said the referee confirmed that ‘shots to the belt-line were allowed during their rules meeting’ on the Friday night.
Fury was quick to respond to the situation and took to social media to share a picture of himself with a pair of boxing shorts pulled up exceptionally high – referencing the controversy over Usyk’s trunks on the night.
Tyson Fury has taken to social media to mocked his heavyweight rival Oleksandr Usyk following the Ukrainian’s controversial world title victory over Daniel Dubois
Dubois landed a heavy body shot that floored the Ukrainian in the fifth round of their bout but Usyk went on to defend his IBF, WBO and WBA belts after being given ample time to recover
Usyk was visibly hurt by the strike to his abdomen and lay on the canvas gasping for air before the referee stepped to state the blow was ‘below the belt’
Fury’s captioned the pictured: ‘KIT ALERT. #SoftBelly, #FURYNGANNOU and #Riyadhseason’ before sharing a series of emojis including a set of side eyes.
However, Usyk pleaded his innocence after the fight. He said: ‘How can I be guilty in wearing shorts? The low blow comes not from wearing shorts like this but the low blow itself. I’m ready to fight without shorts.’
But, Frank Warren did not agree. Speaking with talkSPORT after the fight, he said: ‘Dubois won that, if he had been allowed to carry on, he would have won. We will appeal this. It’s a liberty.’ Dubois in his own post-fight interview claimed: ‘I don’t think that was a low blow. I think that landed and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight. What else can I say?’
‘He’s been cheated, it hit him on the waistband,’ Warren said in the immediate aftermath. ‘That’s all he worked on in camp, to the body, we saw it as a weakness and the referee got it badly wrong.
‘I like Usyk but that was a hometown decision. He won the fight because he was not fit to go on and they gave him a couple of minutes to recover from a legitimate shot.’
While Dubois added: ‘I didn’t think that was a low blow, I thought it landed and that I’ve been cheated out of victory. I’ve been cheated out of it tonight. I’ll come again.’