“After what happened in the fifth round, I was devastated,” said Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs), who on Saturday claimed the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts, but lost by technical knockout in the ninth round Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs).
“I knew that Usyk would not get up after this blow, but the referee did not start the countdown. He couldn't even move. And I thought, "What's going on, why isn't the referee counting him out?" I told the referee that I hit him with a good punch and it wasn't a low blow. There was confusion, and when the fight resumed after a long time, I lost momentum, something broke in me, and I felt empty. I fought on the territory of the opponent, and if the fight had taken place in England, everything would have been different. It is these little things that matter later: Usyk had the advantage of his native walls, ”Dubois said in an interview with the Air Force.
Recall that the Ukrainian sent the applicant to the floor at the end of the eighth round, and in the ninth, with a short right punch to the chin, he finished off an already tired opponent.