It has been announced tonight the WBA ruled against Queensberry’s appeal, who sought to have the verdict overturned – after Daniel Dubois suffered a contentious ninth-round TKO loss by unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk on August 26. Usyk and WBC champion Tyson Fury have signed contracts for an undisputed heavyweight showdown, per a press release two weeks ago.
WBA: Appeal hasn’t met burden of proof to overturn
- WBA Championship Committee chairman Carlos Chavez confirms in statement the appellant (Queensberry Promotions, on behalf of Dubois) “has not met his burden of proof in having the Committee set aside the result of the Usyk-Dubois bout – the bout decision will not be [overturned].”
- Queensberry’s injustice stems from referee Luis Pabon’s actions during a divisive fifth round: after initially ruling Dubois’ body shot as an accidental low blow, he encouraged Usyk to take the full five-minute recovery period allotted, despite the unbeaten two-division world champion repeatedly expressing a willingness to resume much earlier
- Chavez continued: “None of the television tape recordings had convincing evidence that the referee’s call of a low blow was incorrect, not indispensable evidence to prove otherwise,” while confirming WBA supervisor Jesper D. Jensen advised the committee the Puerto Rican’s decision was correct and has been treated as such after due process
- For more detail and the full statement from this story, read Jake Donovan’s BoxingScene piece here
The WBA have announced they found no evidence referee Luis Pabon made an error in deeming Daniel Dubois’ body punch an illegal low blow in the fifth round of his unsuccessful world title challenge against Oleksandr Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland.
Although Dubois stated why he felt injustice on social media and again to multiple broadcasters — BBC and Sky Sports in the aftermath – many felt it was last chance saloon for Queensberry to save face after falling short in a marquee fight away from home.
As expected, Usyk now has the luxury of an uninterrupted path towards his next title fight – whether that be a Tyson Fury unification or satisfying another mandatory against the unbeaten Croatian Filip Hrgovic (16-0 with 13 KOs, #1 IBF).
Hrgovic retained his status as top contender with the IBF after a R12 TKO win over Australia’s Demsey McKean the week before Usyk-Dubois, with Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk telling me they were less than impressed with the 31-year-old’s showing.
This latest update comes after the Ukrainian, 36, made the second defence of his unified world heavyweight belts against another Londoner in Daniel Dubois on Aug. 26 – afforded what many critics felt was a premature title shot by virtue of winning the WBA (Regular) strap at Trevor Bryan’s expense stateside last summer.
A reminder of the body shot deemed low:
A press release back on Sept. 29 confirmed Usyk and Fury had reportedly signed terms to crown the division’s first undisputed titlist since Fury’s compatriot Lennox Lewis managed the achievement in Las Vegas against Evander Holyfield in 1999.
No date has been confirmed yet for a long-awaited showdown, as Fury will make his maiden appearance this year in a 10-round exhibition bout against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
While this represents Ngannou’s professional boxing debut – something he has long wanted – Fury’s WBC world title isn’t up for grabs and instead, a special belt made by the sanctioning body will be available for the winner later this month.
Assuming he emerges unscathed and is injury-free, Fury-Usyk is expected to take place at some stage during the Riyadh Season, which will likely end in March 2024.
As for Dubois, who Usyk said spoke about potentially retiring altogether after their tussle in Wroclaw, it’ll be interesting to see what’s next after presumably taking the rest of this year off to reflect and rebuild before looking at the 26-year-old’s options.
Looking to avenge defeat in a Joe Joyce rematch remains possible, in what many would deem a loser-leaves-town scenario, while he could test himself against the rung below championship-level opposition to build confidence back again.
We’ll have to wait and see, but at least this chapter is now closed.
Picture source: Piotr Duszczyk (boxingphotos.pl), statement info hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 