Richards team to appeal WBA decision after Ramirez split loss

Lerrone Richards will file an appeal with the WBA this week after dropping a widely criticized split decision to Albert Ramirez in their interim heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight title bout June 4 in Montreal.

Richards appeared to control the 12-round contest at Montreal Casino but lost on two of the three cards. Judge Nicolas Esnault scored the fight 116-112 for the Londoner, while Rodolfo Aguilar and Ricardo Duncan both had it 115-113 for Ramirez. The decision drew immediate backlash from observers who felt Richards had clearly outboxed his opponent.

WBA appeal expected within 48 hours

The Ring reports that Richards and his S-Jam management team met Monday morning in central London to map out their next steps. The appeal will be lodged within 48 hours, seeking either an overturned result, a no contest ruling, or an immediate rematch for the belt.

"It was a robbery, simple as that," Richards told The Ring. "I've watched it back and even being harsh on myself I won that fight 10-2 in rounds, at worst it was 9-3. That's enough to win a fight, it's not even close."

The 33-year-old Richards had screamed in celebration at the final bell, certain he had won convincingly. According to the report, Ramirez apologized to Richards' trainer Dave Coldwell after the result was announced and admitted the Brit should have gotten the nod. Despite the loss, Richards entered The Ring's 175-pound rankings at No. 8 while Ramirez dropped from No. 3 to No. 9.

The bout had originally been scheduled for February 5 but was postponed 24 hours beforehand when Ramirez was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. Richards is now 19-2 with 4 knockouts while Ramirez remains unbeaten at 23-0 with 19 stoppages.

Source: ringmagazine.com