Sometimes all the cards are stacked against you—and you can’t do anything about it. This is a sort of situation Thomas Mattice found himself in during his DAZN headlining bout against Eduardo Hernandez. The super featherweight fight began like any other with two fighters, trying to get the best of each other, but it wouldn’t take long for things to go south.

While in the first half of the fight, Hernandez was dominating the bout targeting Mattice’s body, an accidental headbutt opened up a cut over Hernandez’s eye. Soon, Hernandez’s other eye would suffer the same fate. However, the second one was clearly not because of a headbutt, as there’s video evidence to support it. 

Eduardo Hernandez Wins, but the Scorecard Stumbles

By the time the second cut was sustained, Mattice had already found his rhythm in the fight. But it was too late. Referee Mark Calo-oy halted the bout when Hernandez’s cornermen were unable to stop the bleeding from his second cut. Announcer David Diamante, after several attempts, finally announced the decision.

Hernandez was declared the winner, with the judges’ scorecards reading 59-55, 58-55, and 58-56. However, even this wasn’t without controversy—58-55 was incorrectly tallied by the event supervisor. The correct score should have been 58-56. While Mattice still would have lost, the error highlighted the level of unprofessionalism at the event.

After the results were announced at Arena Sonora in Hermosillo, outraged fans didn’t hold back, expressing their frustration in the comment sections of Matchroom Boxing’s post.

Fan asks Thomas Mattice to appeal the decision

Controversial decisions in professional boxing have become all too common these days, and each instance fuels fan frustration. This fight is no exception. One user branded the decision a daylight robbery, claiming Mattice was back in the game. The user wrote, “Robbery 58-56 mattice he was going to work.” In fact, after the decision, the 34-year-old was extremely upset as he called out Hernandez for quitting.

Another user expressed his disappointment with how the fight was stopped and claimed the tide of the fight was changing. “Unfortunate for this fight to stop this way, the fight was heating up,” the user wrote. Had the fight gone further, Hernandez’s eyes would have worsened and he could have lost the fight. 

Someone else pointed out the cause of the second cut over Hernandez’s eye, urging Mattice to appeal the decision immediately. “That 2nd cut was caused by a punch 🥊 a replay should’ve been used…MATTICE GOT ROBBED NEEDS TO APPEAL THIS DECISION ASAP,” the user wrote. Mattice does have the option to do that, but it may take several weeks to get the final verdict.

The next user downplayed the severity of Hernandez’s cuts, suggesting he could have fought more. The user wrote, “Those cuts weren’t that bad. Took the easy way out instead of fighting, not very Mexican of Rocky.” However, such injuries should not be taken lightly, as the bleeding could have obstructed Hernandez’s vision, leading to much more serious damage. 

One user thought the decision was crazy. The user wrote, “This is crazy[,] man[,] smh.” However, what’s crazier is that the official scores announced were wrong.

That said, Eduardo Hernandez saved himself from recording another loss, while Thomas Mattice will have to come to terms with his fourth. But the question is, if the bleeding had stopped, could Mattice have turned the fight around and claimed victory? What’s your take on it?