At the SSE Arena, in Belfast, on Saturday night, Ryan Burnett deservedly won the IBF world bantamweight title.
The Belfast fight produced a masterful display to dethrone Lee Haskins.
However, whilst everybody waited for the verdict to be announced, there was an audible groan that spread around the arena when the PA, John McDonald, announced it was a split decision.
As everybody held their breath, fearing that the judges had scored the fight closer than the rest of us, the scorecards were read out.
The first judge gave the score as 119-107 in favour of Burnett, a score everybody agreed was about right.
The second judge gave the score as 118-108 in favour of Haskins, cue gasps of disbelief.
The third judge gave the score as 119-107 with the ring announcer uttering those words all boxers dream of gearing, and the new, meaning Burnett had won the fight.
But how the second judge had the scoring so wrong is unbelievable, according to that score of 118-108, Haskins had won everything and only lost two points courtesy of the knock-downs.
After the fight, a bemused Eddie Hearn suggested that he believed that the second judge may have put his scores in the wrong boxes. If so, that?s a damning indictment that the judge, on whom someone?s career is riding, didn?t know which boxer was which.
Truly shocking!
A Truly Shocking Verdict
