'No way': Boxing judge suspended over 'disgusting' scorecard

Boxing officials have been forced to take action over a judge's controversial scorecard that sparked a wave of backlash from fight fans.

Juan Francisco Estrada unified the super flyweight division over the weekend in a fight that many described as one of the greatest in recent memory.

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Estrada earned redemption for a loss he suffered eight years ago with a thrilling split-decision victory over Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez in Dallas, Texas.

The pair exchanged more than 2000 punches in the epic slugfest that left ringside spectators and viewers around the world gobsmacked.

In the long-anticipated rematch of their 2012 fight, Mexico's Estrada went toe-to-toe for 12 rounds with the former pound-for-pound king and four-time division champ from Nicaragua.

The epic contest was highlighted by the fact that one judge, David Sutherland, gave the fight to Estrada 115-113.

Another judge, Jesse Reyes, gave Gonzalez the nod by scoring the fight 115-113 in his favour.

However, the controversy surrounded Carlos Sucre's scorecard, with the third judge seeing it as a lopsided affair, rather than the closely fought battle his peers had scored.

Sucre's scorecard had the fight 117-111 in Estrada’s favour, with the judge ruling that the Mexican won every one of the final five rounds, despite many feeling that it was Gonzalez who finished the fight stronger.

Many viewers, including the Athletic’s boxing writer Mike Coppinger, labelled the Sucre scorecard "disgusting" and took to social media to vent their frustrations.

The WBA confirmed after the fight that it would temporarily suspend the Venezuelan-born judge while it evaluates his performance.

“We will give the judge the opportunity to speak about what happened,” the WBA announced.

An emotional Gonzalez said after the fight that thought he did enough to win but also seemed willing to accept the verdict.

"It was a better fight than the first one. I felt strong and I felt I won. In last round I gave it all. It was a great round," he said.

Epic slugfest leaves boxing world in awe

The 33-year-old Gonzalez was enjoying a resurgent return to boxing prominence and his performance underlined his ability to maintain a high level of skill well into his boxing career.

For the past decade, Gonzalez has been considered one of the top performers in the sport.

The slugfest would have made even made Marvelous Marvin Hagler proud, with the Hall of Famer passing away on the weekend at his home in New Hampshire.

There was a 10-count salute to Hagler just prior to the start of the main event with ring announcer Michael Buffer putting his stamp on the moment by telling the pandemic-limited crowd of 5,000: "This is the way Marvin Hagler would have wanted it. Let's get this party started!"

The 30-year-old Estrada improved to 42-3 with 28 knockouts as he not only beat Gonzalez for the first time but has now avenged all of three of his career defeats.

"I did enough to win," said Estrada. "I knew it was a close fight. I didn't know if I was up or down.

"I needed to close out the fight in the last two rounds. If he threw two or three punches then I had to throw two or three punches as well.

"Chocolatito is a great fighter. He deserves a trilogy"

Estrada retained his World Boxing Council title and snatched Gonzalez's World Boxing Association belt via the split decision.

Gonzalez, who dropped to 50-3, 41 KOs, has won five world titles in four weight classes.

with agencies

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