Could the Low-Blow Controversy in Oleksandr Usyk’s Win over Daniel Dubois Really Lead to VAR Implementation in Boxing, as Demanded by Derek Chisora?

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Usyk defended his WBA, WBO and IBF unified heavyweight world titles after knocking Dubious out in the ninth round.

Speaking to talkSPORT’s Gareth Davies, he said: “I’ll be honest about it.

“You know what they need to do now? We need to get VAR in boxing now.

“We need to get VAR in boxing because right now, Daniel has lost the fight.

“He lost the rematch, which is about £20million or £30m. He lost money.

 

“So now we need VAR. All the other games have them. Tennis, football, we need it in boxing now. We need VAR in boxing and that’s it.”

As Dubois’ body shot was ruled a low blow, Usyk was given more than three minutes to recover at a crucial point in the fight.

When the fight did resume, the unified champion did not look too badly affected and went on to take control of the bout.

In his post-fight interview, Dubois said: “I don’t think that was a low blow.”

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“I think that landed and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight. What else can I say?”

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Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren also chimed in and revealed they will be appealing the result, saying: “He was cheated out of victory. It hit him on the waistband. That’s all he worked on in camp, working to the body, he saw that as a weakness.

“The referee got it badly wrong, badly wrong. I like Usyk, but that was a complete hometown decision. He won that fight… It’s a nonsense, total nonsense.

“The governing bodies will have to do something about it and they will order a rematch. How can you not order a rematch on the strength of that? He won it.

“We’ll appeal what’s gone on here. I’m quite sure they’ll order a rematch. Justice has to be done.”

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