A 12-YEAR boxing tradition is set to come to an end after Oleksandr Usyk's controversial victory over Daniel Dubois.
The Ukrainian boxer beat the Brit by TKO in the ninth round of the heavyweight fight at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland.
But it wasn't without controversy. Dubois floored Usyk in the fifth with what he is adamant was a legal body shot.
But it wasn't what the referee thought, as he allowed the champ almost FOUR MINUTES to recover what he deemed to be a low blow.
Dubois' promoter Frank Warren has now promised to appeal the decision in the hope of it being a 'no contest' and bagging his man a rematch to boot.
Joshua told 'play the game' by boxing icon Evander Holyfield after Usyk defeats
But on Saturday night Usyk, 36, retained the unified WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight belts that he won by beating Anthony Joshua in 2021.
He also won the WBA regular heavyweight title from Dubois thanks to the victory.
But now Usyk 'holds' the title, it will be abolished as part of the WBA's plans to reduce the amount of titles.
The secondary belt was created out of David Haye's fight with Wladimir Klitschko as the Ukrainian was named 'super champion'.
After the pair's contest it was expected that the belt would be scrapped by the WBA decided to keep it.
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
In late 2011, as Alexander Povetkin took on Ruslan Chagaev it was named the 'WBA Regular'.
However many fans questioned whether or not another top-division belt was needed.
Povetkin held the title until 2013 after beating Chagaev and was ordered a fight against Klitschko.
Anthony Joshua to face Dillian Whyte 'in the summer' as duo bid to settle series
As a result, people presumed that the regular title would, but that turned out to be wrong.
Klitschko vs Povetkin was sanctioned with a purse worth £13.5million and was the only time that WBA chiefs would insist that a regular title holder would have a full shot at the main title.
Klitschko won the bout and added the regular belt to his collection despite being the super champion leaving the title vacant.
But two months after Povetkin dropped the title the WBA called on Fres Oquendo and Chagaev to contest for the vacant title.
However, the fight was delayed for multiple reasons due to injuries which led to Chagaev eventually earning the title with victory in 2014.
The title was then won by Lucas Browne as he defeated Chagaev in Grozny, Russia in 2016.
The title was then controversially vacated by Brown after he was flagged for a banned substance, despite eventually clearing his name.
Dubois eventually got his hands on the regular title in 2022 as he defeated holder Trevor Bryan in Florida.
He defended the title at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December on the undercard of Tyson Fury's trilogy fight against Derek Chisora.
Now Usyk has won the battle against the regular title it will be removed as part of the WBA's plans to abolish the regular belts.
