12 May 2024 , 14:15
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Britain’s Nina Hughes felt she had been “robbed” after being incorrectly announced as the winner in her WBA bantamweight title fight against Cherneka Johnson.
The bout, in Perth, Australia, concluded amidst farcical scenes as the ring announcer first called Hughes as the victor by a majority decision of the judges, before awarding the victory to her opponent.
Johnson was awarded the fight after with scores of 98-92, 96-94 with the final judge scoring it a draw.
After a close first eight rounds, Johnson moved into the ascendancy in the final two to take charge of the contest and hand Hughes the first loss of her seven-fight professional career.
“It’s a joke,” said Hughes. "I feel like I’ve been robbed big time. “There’s got to be a rematch. I didn’t lose that fight.
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“How can 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 it comfortably.”
Johnson, who is a former super-bantamweight title holder, said: “I’m not the judge and I’m just glad that they figured out the wrong decision.
"Nina was a tough fight but I definitely think I won.”
In the main event, Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko won both the IBO and vacant IBF lightweight titles by defeating Australia’s George Kambosos Jr in the 11th round.