A world title fight was marred after the announcer made a horrific mistake and announced the wrong winner, humiliating a fighter in the process.
In boxing, there is always some controversy around decisions, scorecards, or even stoppages. An example of this is the wide Callum Smith vs Joshua Buatsi scorecard that had fans confused after the pair fought a close fight.
However, whilst fans may not agree with certain decisions, it is one thing for a fighter to win and be criticized for it, than for a fighter to win, only to be told minutes later, by the judges themselves, that they did not in fact win.
This is exactly what happened last year, in a WBA bantamweight world title fight.
Nina Hughes wrongly declared winner of Cherneka Johnson
Nina Hughes and ‘Sugar Neekz’ Cherneka Johnson fought last year for the WBA title on the undercard of Lomachenko, who begged Richard Commey’s corner to stop their fight years prior, vs George Kambosos Jr.
The fight was a closely contested one, with scorecards of 96-94, 98-92, and 95-95, but it was the announcement of these scorecards that caused chaos.
Initially, the announcer declared Hughes as the winner, prompting much celebration from the Brit who believed she was able to retain her title. However, minutes later this celebration was dashed as the announcer admitted he’d made a mistake, and that the winner was, in fact, Cherneka Johnson.
Both fighters looked baffled, but the win was given to ‘Sugar Neekz’.
Nina Hughes and Cherneka Johnson will settle the score this month
Though upset by the decision, which marks Hughes first loss, making her 6-1, the Brit has the opportunity to right the wrong and face Johnson once more, on the undercard of George Kambosos Jr.’s return to the ring against Daud Yordan.
Both Hughes and Johnson will look to prove themselves after controversy tainted their previous outing.
Also on the card, Skye Nicolson defends her title against Tiara Brown, and Teremoana fights again. Brown has hit out at Nicolson ahead of their fight, and believes she can stop the Aussie on her home turf.