Badou Jack W10 Richie Rivera ... In Saudi Arabia, Badou Jack looked sluggish but got a huge benefit from a four-minute eighth round and went on to defeat Richie "Popeye" Rivera by controversial ten-round decision in the cruiserweight division. All three official scores were 96-94, with two judges voting for Jack and one for Rivera. The early rounds saw Rivera fighting somewhat sloppily but far more active than the lethargic Jack. Rivera landed several good uppercuts throughout, but began to tire around round seven. In round eight, Rivera did well early on, but Jack finally began to turn the heat up in the second half of the round. As Jack turned the tide, the local timekeeper refused to ring the bell to end the round, and Jack was allowed an extra minute to punish Rivera. That lilkely made the difference in the fight, as DAZN commentator Chris Mannix had it 95-95, which included giving the long round to Jack. Now 27-3-3, Jack is a former super middleweight champion who is campaigning at cruiserweight, well above his best weight. Rivera is now 21-1, his record unjustly smeared.

FROM STAR BOXING PRESS RELEASE:

“Richie was denied a victory and it’s absolutely inexcusable,” said Star Boxing's Joe DeGuardia (Rivera's promoter). “It’s disgraceful that a round could go on for four minutes, with the illegal extra minute swinging the outcome of the round and the fight. How does something like that happen on a stage as big as this? We will be requesting a rematch and protesting the fight with the necessary commission. We are all extremely proud of ‘Popeye’ for daring to be great. Separately we nonetheless congratulate Saudi Arabia on a huge showcase boxing event.”