Ring announcer Dan Hennessy, who mistakenly declared Britain’s Nina Hughes the winner, has said he will “quit the sport” due to the reaction he received.
A wild and chaotic scene on the scorecard saw Hennessy mistakenly declare Hughes the winner at the weekend, before correcting his mistake in Perth, Australia, where Hughes lost to Che for the first time in seven career fights. Erneka Johnson.
Hennessey posted on social media that he would play one more fight before retiring: “I love everyone’s support. Thank you everyone for your kind words. Unfortunately, the backlash from around the world is absolutely difficult. Believe it or not, it’s affecting my mental health enough for me to watch another show.
“I’m doing this show because I’m still a man of my word and made a promise to Sam Rapira [Kiwi light-heavyweight boxer] I would do it because he is a great partner and I refuse to leave him hanging.
“I love and will stay in touch with all my friends from around the world. Thank you. No more the world’s punching bag. I’m out.”
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Hughes was convinced she won the fight and asked for a rematch
After the fight, Hughes, 41, said: “I just don’t get it. How can they declare me the winner and then change the score? I thought I was dominant early on. I thought she won some games later in the rounds. , but I feel like I won the game easily.
“I don’t understand how you can declare a winner and then change the score. It’s a joke. I felt like I was robbed. Had to rematch. I didn’t lose that game.”
At the post-fight press conference, Hughes added: “I have no words. I countered her jab with three or four shots; I don’t understand how when you’re getting hit, just hitting you can win a fight. Three or four shots per battle.
“The ring announcer obviously thought I won, so he looked at the scorecards and declared that. So, to tip that off…”
“I love the dirty side of the sport,” Hughes later tweeted on social media.
Johnson’s split decision saw the Australian take the title with scores of 98-92 and 96-94, with the referee ultimately ruling the fight a draw.
Hughes’ trainer Kevin Lilley was furious, calling the result a “blatant robbery” and claiming his boxer had been framed in Perth.
“We have a lot of respect for Chernecka and her team, they’ve done a great job all the way, but that’s nonsense,” he said. “We were brought here from daylight and set up.
“That girl was blatantly robbed tonight and did something like this. [To score the fight] Eight to two is blatant robbery.Anyone with a pair of eyes [could see]the girl clearly won the battle.
“Chernecka walked into the locker room, stood there and said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not a judge.’ The rematch has to happen.”
After an outstanding performance, Australian player Cherneka Johnson was finally declared the winner (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Johnson later spoke out, arguing she had done enough to win and initially felt she “had to accept” the verdict when Hughes was initially read out as the winner.
“I’m not a judge, I’m just glad they made the wrong decision,” Johnson said. “Nina was a tough fight. I’m not a judge, but I definitely think I won that fight. I fought hard to win that Overjoyed at the game.”
In the night’s main event, a dominant Vasily Lomachenko defeated George Kambosos Jr. in the 11th round to win the IBF lightweight title in Perth.
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