A Masterclass That Got The Wrong Result
Right then, let's not beat around the bush — Lerrone Richards won that fight and the judges took it off him. Albert Ramirez walks away from the Casino de Montreal still clutching his WBA interim light heavyweight belt after a split decision, 115-113, 115-113 his way and 116-112 the other, but the scorecards and the fight I watched were two very different things. This was a robbery, and it's the kind of result that makes you want to put your boot through the telly.
Make no mistake, Richards was brilliant. The all-southpaw chess match suited the Englishman down to the ground, and he controlled it at his own pace from the opening bell. He countered beautifully, tied Ramirez up on the inside whenever the Venezuelan tried to load up, and made a genuinely heavy-handed champion look clumsy and one-paced for long spells. That's not me being kind — that's what levels of boxing IQ looks like.
Where The Fight Was Won — And Lost On The Cards
Ramirez came in unbeaten with a reputation as a finisher, a man nobody at 175lbs wants a piece of. To his credit, he never stopped trying. The problem is that trying isn't scoring. As the rounds wore on his swings got wilder and more desperate, and Richards just kept slipping the lot and tapping him with the clean, eye-catching counter. If you know, you know — clean, effective punching is supposed to win rounds, not the bloke walking forward throwing air.
I had Richards up by three or four rounds and I wasn't alone. The away-corner tax is a real thing in this sport, and travelling to Montreal to outpoint a hometown unbeaten prospect was always going to need a wide margin. Richards built that margin. He just didn't get it rewarded, and that is a sickener for a fighter who did everything right.
Richards Has Every Right To Be Fuming
You could see it on his face the moment the cards were read. Shocked, gutted, and rightly so. This is twice now that the big night has slipped through his fingers at the death, and you can only feel for the man. He fought like a champion and he leaves with nothing but the respect of everyone who actually watched it. That respect should count for something when the next move gets made.
So What Now?
I'm not sitting on the fence here. Lerrone Richards needs an immediate rematch, and if Ramirez won't grant it, the WBA should be steering Richards straight into a bigger fight at the top of a brilliant division. On this evidence he can box with anyone at 175lbs, and a man who can do that to a feared puncher deserves another world-level night, not a long wait in the cold.
As for Ramirez — he keeps the belt and the unbeaten record, but he knows. Deep down he knows. If he wants to prove he belongs in the conversation with the likes of Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez, he runs this back and does it properly. My honest read? Give me Richards by a clearer margin in a rematch every day of the week.