Boxing Announcer Declares Wrong Winner in Women's Bantamweight Title Fight

Patrick Andres | May 12, 2024

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When it was all over, veteran ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore was irate.

"I want clean up what we saw with this absolute clown show garbage amateur hour we saw with the ring announcer moments ago," Tessitore said after Australia's Cherneka Johnson defeated Great Britain's Nina Hughes by majority decision to win the WBA women's bantamweight title Saturday night in Perth.

What happened was this: Johnson beat Hughes "from the jump," as ringside broadcaster Bernardo Osuna told Tessitorre on ESPN's broadcast. However, ring announcer Daniel Hennessey read the results incorrectly—declaring the wrong winner.

Hughes and Johnson shook hands and the former celebrated before Hennessy called both fighters back to the center of the ring.

The ring announcer declares the wrong winner in Perth then corrects it 😳 pic.twitter.com/ze9Wxt6JaU

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 12, 2024

The referee and competitors obliged, visibly confused. Hennessy then declared Johnson the winner to the shock of the crowd.

"Is this for real?" Tessitore asked. "Is this guy, 'Lieutenant' Dan Hennessey, for real?"

Joe Tess unloads on the "absolute clown show garbage amateur hour" ring announcer and gets the corrected results pic.twitter.com/d1czlIp3B1

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 12, 2024

For both Hughes and Johnson, it was a fight to remember—and not in a good way.