'The initial thought was that wasn’t low' - Says Michael Hunter, Who Fought Usyk Back in 2017
Weeks after the controversial low punch from Daniel Dubois to Oleksandr Usyk, discussions about the legitimacy of the hit continue to make headlines. One heavyweight competitor, Michael Hunter, argues that this incident adds to a growing list of examples showing that Usyk is vulnerable to body shots. During their championship bout for the WBO, WBA, and IBF titles, Dubois landed a punch near Usyk's belt line in the fifth round. The referee halted the action, declaring it a low blow and giving Usyk a significant portion of the allotted five-minute recovery time. When the match resumed, Usyk went on to secure a knockout victory over Dubois after dominating most of the fight. In the wake of the match, Frank Warren, who promotes Dubois, has been pushing for the WBA to either declare the fight a no-contest or to mandate a rematch. The appeal remains pending. Michael Hunter, who fought Usyk in 2017 and lost by unanimous decision, recently spoke to Seconds Out to offer his opinion. He believes that the controversial punch was above board, noting that such belt-line hits are not uncommon in the sport. Hunter also discussed the long-standing belief that Usyk is susceptible to body blows, stating that he's seen multiple instances where Usyk seemed to struggle against such shots. Hunter suggested that Dubois should have been more persistent, claiming that the British boxer seemed to lack determination after the referee's ruling.
“The initial thought was that wasn’t low. We get hit on the belt line all the time.” “Yeah, it’s never been a secret. There’s other clips out there I’ve seen since I was younger before I even knew who he was. If you look you’ll find other body shots with him complaining or getting dropped. It’s no biggy, everybody can get hurt to the body.” “Daniel didn’t put his foot down. If I was him I would have gone right back to the same spot and let the ref do his job.”With the WBA expected to make a decision in the coming weeks, it looks increasingly likely that Dubois may need to find an alternative pathway back to the upper echelons of the heavyweight division.
