Highlights
- The ring announcer mistakenly declared the wrong winner in boxing match, much to the confusion of everyone in the ring.
- Nina Hughes thought she had done enough to win the fight, and she was originally announced the victory by the ring announcer.
- However, he then had to re-announce the result, eventually crowning Cherneka Johnson the winner.
A ring announcer in Australia has caused controversy after he called out the wrong name as the winner, much to the annoyance of an angered crowd!
The incident happened in Perth, where Nina Hughes faced Cherneka Johnson for the WBA bantamweight world title. Neither fighter could force the stoppage, so the bout went to the judges’ scorecards. Ring announcer Dan Hennessey awarded the win to Hughes by majority decision, 95-95, 96-94, 98-92. But, while she was celebrating, both boxers were called back to the middle and told it was actually Johnson who had won, not Hughes.
The announcer had clearly messed up, and everyone in the ring, from the fighters, the cornermen, and even the referee, were left completely dumbfounded. The referee was clearly starting to raise the hand of Johnson, before having to awkwardly raise Hughes’ hand instead.
Video: Ring Announcer Declares Wrong Winner
Hughes, thinking she had won, went to her team to celebrate, before both women were hastily called back to the centre of the ring, where the announcer, clearly realising his mistake, rushed through his announcements to try and correct his obvious mistake. Even the commentators exclaimed: “Is this guy for real?!?!?”
What the Fighters Said After the Confusion
“I just don’t get it,” Hughes said. “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. I don’t get how you can announce the winner and then change the scores.
“This is a joke. I feel like I’ve been robbed big time. There’s got to be a rematch. I didn’t lose that fight. I thought I dominated it.”
Johnson was clearly relieved that the right outcome was eventually called: “I’m not the judge, and I’m just glad that they figured out the wrong decision. Nina was a tough fight … I’m not the judges, but I definitely think I won that fight. I’m just over the moon I won this bout.”
Boxing fans had a field day with the debacle on social media. “Sackable offense for an announcer,” wrote one fan on X. “That was shocking to see, I feel bad for both fighters,” replied another.
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Promoter Lou DiBella later confirmed that there was a rematch clause in their contracts, meaning the two women will be able to run it back at a later date.
“I’m sort of shocked, it’s unfair to have to suffer through that,” he said. “To think you’ve won it and then celebrate, and have a decision to turn it over. That’s screwed up.”
One man clearly irate about the announcing blunder was ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore, as he said: “I want to clean up what we saw with this absolute clown show garbage amateur hour we saw with the ring announcer moments ago. Is this for real? Is this guy, ‘Lieutenant’ Dan Hennessey, for real?”
Boxing reporter Dan Rafael wrote on X: “The ring announcer sucks. Re-read cards and Johnson won the fight and title. He f***** up reading the cards for Moloney-Guevara also. What a joke.”
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