{"id":95058,"date":"2026-06-11T03:22:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/there-were-a-lot-of-tears-in-the-changing-room-devastated-lerrone-richards-opens-up-about-disputed-wba-title-loss\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T03:22:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:22:57","slug":"there-were-a-lot-of-tears-in-the-changing-room-devastated-lerrone-richards-opens-up-about-disputed-wba-title-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/there-were-a-lot-of-tears-in-the-changing-room-devastated-lerrone-richards-opens-up-about-disputed-wba-title-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"'There were a lot of tears in the changing room:' Devastated Lerrone Richards opens up about disputed WBA title loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lerrone Richards is still trying to come to terms with what happened in Canada last Thursday.<\/p>\n

After years of inactivity, personal struggles away from the ring, and a shock defeat that threatened to derail his career, Richards, 33, finally landed the opportunity he had been waiting for \u2014 a shot at Albert Ramirez's WBA interim light heavyweight title.<\/p>\n

Twelve rounds later, Richards believed he had seized it. But the judges disagreed.<\/p>\n

"You wouldn't think a fighter would go out and win 10 of the 12 rounds \u2014 and that's being harsh on myself \u2014 and still not get the decision," England's Richards told Uncrowned. "It's like incompetence. A lot of people are using the word 'corrupt.' I don't really want to use that word, but yeah, incompetence for sure."<\/p>\n

The away fighter being denied a decision on foreign soil has become a familiar theme in boxing. This one still felt different. <\/p>\n

Ramirez vs. Richards wasn't a competitive fight, not in the slightest. Some respected observers argued that Richards won all 12 rounds against Ramirez, yet he still didn't walk away with his hands raised.<\/p>\n

"You know when it's a close fight and you're on away soil, sometimes fights don't go your way \u2014 let's say it's like a 7-5 sort of score. But that fight was so convincing," Richards said. "Like I won 10 of 12 rounds, and that's me being very harsh. I wasn't skeptical [about getting the decision]. I almost felt like there was no way that I couldn't<\/em> get the decision. I thought I was the clear winner."<\/p>\n

\"Lerrone
Lerrone Richards suffered a stunning defeat to Albert Ramirez last Thursday.<\/figcaption>
Peter Byrne – PA Images via Getty Images<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Richards' team has filed an appeal with the WBA over the verdict, and he hopes that it will be overturned. That outcome, however, would almost be a first in the sport. It is very rare for a sanctioning body to reverse the official decision in a fight. A more likely \u2014 but still rare \u2014 scenario is that an immediate rematch is ordered.<\/p>\n

Richards may indeed get a second crack, but it won't change what a win would've meant for him.<\/p>\n

"There were a lot of tears in the changing room," he said.<\/p>\n

"I have two kids, I have a family. I do this to provide for them \u2014 to put food on the table for them. This [win] here would've opened so many doors for me. For me to be able to secure my family's life.<\/p>\n

"[And] that's [only] one of the things that's affected. You've got to think about a fighter's mental state as well. [I'm lucky] that I have a positive and a good family behind me, because situations like this, you need people there to support you."<\/p>\n

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