Eddie Hearn has no doubt that the beat Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs), after which Oleksandr Usyk (21-1, 13 KOs) fell to the floor in the fifth round of their heavyweight three-belt bout on Saturday, was an illegal strike.
“The whole fist was below the level of the navel, the lower knuckles were much lower. The blow fell on the bandage - this is a blow below the belt, ”wrote the head of Matchroom Boxing in one of the social networks.
Johnny Nelson, on the other hand, believes that the DDD action was in accordance with the rules, although he adds that even if the referee had not given Usyk a rest after the foul, the Ukrainian would still have won the fight.
"I don't think it was a banned kick and I think Usyk did what football players do when they roll 15 times after they've been flicked in the ears," Nelson told talkSPORT. “I think Usyk took advantage of the situation well, but still the one who should have won won.”
“Usyk could be tired in this round, but the referee gave him time to recover. Why does everyone think he couldn't do it? I think he could handle it, but we'll never know for sure. This is debatable. Let's be honest - most of us were counting on Daniel to win, he only had a puncher's chance to win, and if they fight again, everything will end the same way, ”added Nelson.
