Lerrone Richards believed he had just changed his life. After 12 rounds against undefeated Albert Ramirez in Canada, the British fighter stood in the ring convinced he had become interim world champion, only for two judges to hand the WBA interim light heavyweight title to his opponent.
Now Richards is left asking a far more basic question: how does he feed his family?
For a fighter who can only land one bout a year, the controversial split-decision loss is more than a bad night, it is a potential career-altering injustice.
Almost everyone watching believed Richards was a clear winner but two of the three ringside judges scored the contest in favor of Ramirez.
The result caused uproar in the UK, with fans slating the decision on social media. Locals in Canada were also unhappy with the verdict.
Richards, 19-2 (4 KOs), felt in complete command throughout against Ramirez, now 23-0 (19 KOs).
“I was doing what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted,” Richards told BoxingScene.
“Ramirez was trying to apply pressure and I nullified it, beating him from a distance, beating him inside.
“I just took each round as they came. I didn’t look too far ahead and each round I felt like I was building momentum. After the bell rang in the 12th round, I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m going to be interim world champion.’ There were no nerves. I knew I was going to win the fight. I won it so clear. I just had my hand up and wanted to hear it announced.”
The Moment The Cards Were Read
Richards had been dreaming about the win for weeks. Then came the scorecards.
“Then when I heard 115-113 to him and 116-112 to me, and after that when they said, ‘115-113 and still…’ honestly, my heart, everything, my whole body, just no energy left my body,” he said.
He recalled walking through the crowd in a blur, fans shouting that he had won, before reaching the changing room.
“I walked up the stairs, the doctor wanted to have a look at me, and I remember not really wanting to see the doctor because I hardly got hit,” Richards said. “Then I went upstairs, walked to the changing rooms and I just broke down. I’ll be honest, I’m not going to lie, I broke down.”
According to Richards, even Ramirez admitted he had been fortunate to keep his belt and unbeaten record.
“He spoke to my coach and, to be fair to him, told my coach, ‘I didn’t win that fight. Richards has won. I’m sorry,’” Richards said. “I watched the fight about five times and you can tell he knew after that fight. He was almost like, ‘Whoa, I’ve won?’ He almost didn’t look happy.”
No Man’s Land
Richards has long been a forgotten man of British boxing, struggling to land top names at super middleweight and light heavyweight, with significant gaps between major fights rather than a consistent annual schedule. The Ramirez loss leaves the 33-year-old in no man’s land.
“This is people’s lives, man. People’s mental health. People don’t realise what it does to people,” Richards said. “People didn’t want to fight me before. They just saw me school one of the top guys in the division. Who wants to fight me now?
“If no one wants to fight me, how am I going to get my income to provide for my family? Because as fighters, we have to fight to earn money. If there’s no fight, there’s no income. There is no money. How am I going to put food on the table for my family?”
Richards revealed his team is working on an appeal with the WBA.
