WBA upholds Usyk's win over Dubois after appeal over controversial low blow

The World Boxing Association upheld Oleksandr Usyk's Aug. 26 heavyweight title victory over Daniel Dubois in Wrocław, Poland, following an appeal of the result from Queensberry Promotions.

Dubois' camp sought to have the fight's outcome reversed due to the referee's actions in the fifth round after he ruled a punch by the 26-year-old as a low blow. Usyk went on to win the fight with a ninth-round knockout.

"After careful review of the appeal, the reply, all documents, and evidence presented by both the appellant and respondent, the report of the supervisor, and the report of the International Officials Committee, the championships committee has determined that the appellant has not met his burden of proof in having the committee set aside the result of the Usyk-Dubois bout," WBA championship committee chairman Carlos Chavez wrote in the official ruling, obtained by BoxingScene's Jake Donovan. "Therefore, the bout decision will not be set aside."

Dubois knocked Usyk down early in the fifth round with a punch that struck the Ukrainian around the belt line.

The referee stopped the fight for five minutes to let Usyk recover, and the boxer found another gear when action resumed. Usyk dropped Dubois shortly before the end of the eighth round and delivered the finishing blow in the ninth to retain his WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO heavyweight belts.

Queensberry Promotions filed the appeal with the WBA in early September, saying that referee Luis Pabón made "errors in judgment" that robbed Dubois of victory, per Donovan. WBA fight supervisor Jesper Jensen determined that Pabón's ruling of an accidental low blow was correct.

The WBA said the International Officials Committee reviewed the case on Sept. 11 and concluded that there was no video evidence to dispute Pabón's decision of a low blow.

The ruling means that Usyk (21-0, 14 knockouts) can move forward and face WBC titleholder Tyson Fury in a highly anticipated undisputed heavyweight championship battle. The megafight is reportedly scheduled for Dec. 23 but could be pushed to early January depending on the result of Fury's October non-title fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

The deal for Fury and Usyk's undisputed heavyweight title fight reportedly contains a two-way rematch clause the loser can trigger afterward.