Liverpool fighter Paul Smith showed his class in his world championship bout against Arthur Abraham but he was controversially out-pointed in Germany.
Smith produced the best performance of his career in Kiel but it was to no avail as the judges gave the fight to Abraham.
Two judges scored the fight 117-111 while one gave Abraham a 119-109 verdict, much to the disgust of Smith and his travelling fans.
The WBO super-middleweight champion was outworked in some stages of the fight and many expected a close outcome at the end.
Smith’s tactic to go to the body seemed to work to perfection but the judges disagree and Smith was left disappointed after the fight.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “What can you do? I only won one round, according to one judge. It’s just disgusting.
“The judges outside of the ring have never fought in their lives and they are robbing kids of life-changing opportunities. That’s just shattered my world there.
“I knew what I could do and I knew I had the beating of him. I did some things wrong in there, (trainer) Joe (Gallagher) will tell me off for that. But I did a lot of things right, the game plan was working – I was upsetting him, I was out-working him every round.
“I feel robbed. I’ve been waiting for a chance, working for an opportunity for a long, long time. I get to a world title shot and then that happens. I just wanted a fair crack of the whip and I didn’t get it.”
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