Boxing fans witnessed an intense battle as Artur Beterbiev outlasted Dmitry Bivol in the highly-anticipated light-heavyweight title bout. However, not everyone shared the same sentiment regarding the judges' decision.
Eddie Hearn, Bivol's promoter, unleashed a furious tirade, strongly disagreeing with the outcome, labeling it 'a joke'. This heated reaction comes as no surprise, as the event saw Bivol struggling to contain Beterbiev's blistering pace.
What seemed like a narrow win by point system and technical statistics turned out to be the aftermath of a battle where Bivol suffered a hard-fought defeat in Saudi Arabia. Hearn expressed dissatisfaction over the decision and lashed out against the judges involved.
'He shouldn't work again!' a visibly enraged Hearn exclaimed in what has quickly become one of the most-tweeted reactions in recent boxing history.
Still, fans remain divided over whether the verdict was indeed a farce or simply an outcome that represented a gut-wrenching performance by both contenders. A further examination of the fight can shed more light on how much emotion influenced opinions.
The most recent result undoubtedly casts a shadow over an already divided community, bringing back the age-old question of bias in sports refereeing. As Bivol nurses his wounds, looking forward to his next challenge, boxing fans worldwide eagerly await the verdict on whether Hearn's judge-bashing is simply an overreaction or indeed valid.