Huge controversy played out in the ring over the weekend when a ring announcer initially awarded a points win to the wrong fighter on the undercard of the Vasyl Lomachenko versus George Kambossos Jr fight.
The fight in question was Nina Hughes, whose record is 6-1, 2 KOs, against Cherneka Johnson (16-2, 6 KOs), down in Perth in Australia.
Brit Hughes ultimately came out on the wrong side of the points decision and lost her WBA world bantamweight title but has now called for a rematch.
The fight was a good one that was full of plenty of back-and-forth drama and provided great entertainment in the build-up to the main event which saw Lomachenko stop Kambossos to reclaim the IBF world title.
However, the controversy happened at the end of the 10-round fight when the referee took each fighter by the hand and first raised Hughes’s arm after MC Daniel Hennessey incorrectly read the judges’ score totals out and claimed that she had won.
However, the victory put have been one of the shortest lived in boxing history as Hennessey called both fighters back to the centre of the ring to correct his mistake and announce that Johnson had in fact won by majority decision with the official score totals reading 95-95, 96-94, and 98-92 in her favour.
The ring announcer declares the wrong winner in Perth then corrects it ? pic.twitter.com/ze9Wxt6JaU
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 12, 2024
41-year-old Hughes said after that she was left hugely confused.
“I just don’t get it. How could they announce I had won and then change the scores? I thought I’d dominated early. I thought she won a few of the later rounds, but I felt like I won comfortably.
“I don’t get how you can announce the winner and then change the scores. It’s a joke. I feel like I’ve been robbed big time. There’s got to be a rematch. I didn’t lose that fight.”
The announcer has now broken his silence and taken to social media to apologise. He revealed that he has spoken to and apologised to both fighters and accepts full responsibility for what happened.
“I own it. It’s all on me. I take full responsibility for the Cherneka Johnson V Nina Hughes controversy. Not the Judges, not the sanctioned body. Me. I have apologised to all involved, and now I apologise to you [fight fans].
“I am sorry for what happened. Again, I own it and can only try to do better next time. Not my best day in the office. I guess all the s**** comments on socials I have coming. Again I am crushed and sorry for my s***storm of a performance. You all deserved better. Sorry again.”
Whether or not Hughes gets a rematch will be a decision for the WBA.
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