THERE was controversy in one of the fights on the Oleksandr Usyk versus Anthony Joshua undercard when the bell failed to ring to end a round.
Badou Jack and Richard Rivera were forced to box for FOUR MINUTES in round eight when the timekeeper went awol.
The clock on the Sky Sports Box Office screen disappeared when the round was supposed to end.
But the two cruiserweights were forced to slug it out for another 60 seconds.
It was not good news for Rivera, as he chose to stand up between rounds so might have fancied a little rest.
And Jack began to take advantage of his opponent’s tiredness by hammering in a barrage of shots as the clocked ticked well past the three minutes.
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Fight fans were less-than impressed on social media.
One asked “where the f*** is the bell”, while Jeremy Padawer posted on Twitter that it was “the first time I’ve ever seen a mistake like that”.
“Shocking”, “s**t” and “disgraceful” were just some of the other comments on the oversight.
Fan anger didn’t stop there either when the result was read out.
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Most had Rivera, who goes by the nickname Popeye and had a pipe in his mouth at the end of the fight, springing the shock, but the judges awarded it to the veteran Jack.
The Swede won 96-94, 96-94 on two of the judges’ scorecards, with the other giving it to Rivera by the same score.
It was Rivera’s first pro defeat.
Daniel Smith posted on Twitter: “What on earth is that result by the way.”
“Travesty of a decision” “daylight robbery” and “unbelievable” were other comments by frustrated fans.
Anthony Joshua will be attempting to get his revenge against Oleksandr Usyk later on in their rematch.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
