Andre Dirrell wins belt after referee disqualifies Jose Uzcategui for punching after the bell

— -- OXON HILL, Md. -- Andre Dirrell has been here, done that, winning a major fight by disqualification.

Dirrell claimed a vacant interim super middleweight title by eighth-round DQ after Jose Uzcategui drilled him just as the bell rang to end the eighth round and he was ruled unable to continue on Saturday night on the Gary Russell Jr.-Oscar Escandon undercard at the MGM National Harbor.

Dirrell went down hard face-first, and referee Bill Clancy ruled that the punch landed after the bell, although it appeared as though Uzcategui was throwing the punch as the bell was ringing.

In 2010, during Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, Dirrell won by 11th-round disqualification against Arthur Abraham when Abraham hit him while he was down after he slipped to the mat. That foul was blatant. This one wasn't.

"I was throwing a three-punch combination, and I didn't hear the bell," Uzcategui said. "I didn't mean to hit him. The third punch wasn't that hard of a punch. I was surprised he stayed down. He did the same thing against Abraham that he did against me tonight. He quit against me, and he quit against him. I deserve to be the winner." Uzcategui was ahead 77-74 and 77-75 on two scorecards, and the third judge had the fight 76-76.

Clancy defended his call.

"The bell rang to stop the round. The round was over and Andre was knocked out with an illegal punch. So therefore, Dirrell will win this fight by disqualification," Clancy said. "That's a blatant foul. Earlier in the fight, I had warned Uzcategui. I warned him. Dirrell wins the fight; he was clearly unable to continue."

With the win, Dirrell is in line for a rematch with full titleholder James DeGale, who is sidelined because of injuries suffered in his January unification fight -- a draw -- with Badou Jack.

In May 2015, Dirrell faced DeGale for a vacant super middleweight title, got knocked down twice and lost a unanimous decision. Dirrell was fighting for only the second time since and did not look good despite getting the victory.

"All I remember was him throwing a shot at me at the same time the bell rang," Dirrell said of the final punch. "After that, everything was blurry. I remember a shot, and then all went fuzzy. I forgive Uzcategui. I forgive his camp. I don't want to win a championship like this. I wanted to win fair and square. But I forgive him."

Uzcategui had Dirrell seemingly in trouble in the second round when he cracked him with a right hand on the chin and had him a bit wobbly late in the round.

Uzcategui, 26, continued to pressure Dirrell and outpunch him as the fight moved along. He would land a shot and Dirrell, 33, would shake his head, but the blows were connecting.

Dirrell (26-2, 16 KOs), of Flint, Michigan, who looked rusty in his return from a 13-month layoff, began to box a bit more in the middle rounds and the pace slowed, but Uzcategui was still able to get in some hard right hands and snap Dirrell's head back with clean jabs.

Venezuela's Uzcategui (26-2, 22 KOs), whose four-fight winning streak came to an end, was having another good round in the eighth and appeared to score the knockout until he was disqualified. Dirrell's corner was yelling at the fighter to stay on the mat, which he did before receiving medical attention.

"I felt very good. I was hurting him the entire fight," Uzcategui said. "I felt like I could hurt him anytime I wanted. Nothing he hit me with hurt me."

Emotions then boiled over as Dirrell's uncle, Leon Lawson, one of his trainers, stormed Uzcategui's corner and threw a punch at him, igniting a near-riot in the ring. Uzcategui's adviser Sean Gibbons was incensed, screaming to ringside media that they would file charges for assault.

"I'm sorry for what my coach has done," Dirrell said. "My coach is my family, my uncle, and he was worried. He cares for me. He loves me. Please forgive him. I'm going to stand up like a man. I didn't win like I wanted to, but I'll be back. I'm going to come back as soon as they let me."

Uzcategui was taken to the trauma center at MedSTAR Washington Hospital for further evaluation and was released a few hours later.

Barthelemy outpoints Relikh in eliminator