The American boxing ring announcer who named the wrong winner after a title fight last weekend has resigned.
Following a boxing match between Cherneka Johnson and Nina Hughes in Australia on Saturday night, announcer Dan Hennessey read the judge's scorecards and mistakenly said that Hughes was the winner of the WBA bantamweight title.
The ensuing backlash on social media was too much to handle, Hennessey revealed.
“Thank you all for the kind words. Unfortunately, the global reaction is absolutely incredible and is affecting my mental health to the point that I will have one more show,” he wrote on Facebook. “I'm doing this show because I'm still a man of my word… I love and will keep in touch with all my friends around the world. Thank you. I'm not the world's punching bag anymore. I'm out.”
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Hennessey read the judge's cards and mistakenly said that Nina Hughes was the winner of the WBA bantamweight title. (George Tewkesbury/PA Images via Getty Images)
The resignation comes after Saturday's controversy shocked the boxing world.
ESPN's Joe Tessitore criticized Hennessey for the controversy.
“I want to clean up what we saw with this absolute clown show, amateur hour garbage that we saw with the ring announcer just moments ago,” he said.
On Saturday, Johnson and Hughes went the distance and the fight was left up to the judges to decide.
Both fighters thought they had won the contest and were eagerly waiting to hear how the judges had scored it.
On the contrary, Cherneka Johnson was elated to know that she had actually won. (Warren Little/Getty Images)
The fighters joined Hennessey and the referee in the middle of the ring and Hennessey initially announced that Hughes was the winner of the fight.
The enthusiastic boxer began to celebrate but then realized his mistake.
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The fighters were called back to the middle of the ring and Hennessey corrected himself, revealing that Johnson won by split decision.
From triumphant to defeated, Hughes was forced to go from hearing that she was the champion to hearing that she had suffered the first loss of her professional career.
“I just don't understand it,” Hughes said after the drama, via Sky Sports. “How can they announce that she had won and then change the scores? I thought she had dominated from the beginning. I thought she won some of the later rounds, but I felt like I won them handily.”
She added: “I don't understand how you can announce the winner and then change the scores. It's a joke. I feel like a lot has been stolen from me. There has to be a rematch. I didn't lose that fight.” “.
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On the contrary, Johnson was elated to know that she had actually won.
“I'm not the judge and I'm just glad they made the wrong decision,” Johnson said. “Nina was a tough fight. I'm not the judge, but I definitely think I won that fight. I'm delighted to have won this fight.”
Dan Hennessey read the judge's cards and mistakenly said that Hughes was the winner of the WBA bantamweight title. The subsequent social media reaction was too much to handle. (Adobe)
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After the initial drama, Hennessey apologized on Facebook.
“I own it. It's all on me. I take full responsibility for the Chernika Johnson vs. Nina Hughes controversy,” he wrote. “Neither the judges, nor the sanctioned body. Me.”
He added: “I have apologized to everyone involved and now I apologize to you. I am sorry for what happened. Again, I acknowledge that and I can only try to do better next time. Not my best day at the office.”
Ryan Gaydos of Fox News and Reuters contributed to this report.
