The Briton's reign as the IBF strap holder came to an end at Wembley Stadium on Saturday as he was outclassed for a second time by the Ukrainian with a ruthless performance.

Having traded blows across the first four rounds without much impression, Dubois was felled twice by Usyk in the fifth, with trainer Charles waving off his star after the second.

With previous knockout losses against both Usyk and Joe Joyce, the later stood by his call to pull his fighter despite him regaining his feet, stressing it was the correct option.

"At that point, you're in a stressed [place of] emotion," he told talkSport. "I don't want him to fight on. I'm paid to make decisions. Sometimes they're wrong, sometimes they're right.

"I think I've got most of them right in my career. My initial instinct was to throw the towel in to save my guy. Fighters are too brave for their own good in some ways.

"I want him to take no more punishment. There's knockouts, and then there's knockdowns. He went face-down first. That's not a good sign. My instinct was to save him."

A third career loss for Dubois leaves him at a crossroads now, with multiple options as he bids to rebuild for another shot at a heavyweight world title in the near future.

Usyk meanwhile will need to weigh up an opponent for what he has teased could be the final fight of his career, with trilogies against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua both mooted.

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