Irish super welterweight boxer Dennis Hogan has delivered an impassioned plea to save the soul of boxing, following a decision that he feels robbed him of one of the greatest nights of his life.
'Hurricane' Hogan spoke of his points decision loss to Mexican Jaime Munguia, in a turn that left major questions over adjudication and the wisdom of hosting fights in home countries.
"When does boxing stop being something that people can dream for? What about the fourteen or fifteen year-olds that are going into boxing and are dreaming of becoming a professional?
"They will have watched that fight, heard all the good stories of me being an underdog story, and then they see what happens.
"Does that deter them from doing it? I believe now that we have to push to ensure justice happens in our sport. This is a sport that saves lives. This is a sport that keeps people on the straight and narrow - it gives people purpose and dignity."
It was the particularly galling nature of the decision that is likely to cost 34 year-old Hogan a shot at earning around $5m in future fights, and he is looking forward to a rematch if Munguia so decides.
"If something goes down like it did last week, then we need to be able to rectify things like this to give people hope. Not just 'that's boxing - that's what it is' because if that's it, then people might not come into the sport."
Hogan believes that such attitudes will allow promising fighters to pursue other careers in different sports altogether.
"People might just say 'let's go somewhere where you can get the goal and score the goal, or use video refs', or rugby or something.
"That is the reason that I am not going to let this go until we get justice in the form of a rematch or we get the vacant title going forward."
Hogan believes that Michael Conlan set a great example in standing up for the true values of boxing, and hopes to follow in his footsteps.
"He couldn't have built a better brand for himself than that. It was a true reaction - and now look at him. He is backed by Top Rank and has a great career ahead of him."
The recount of the judge's scores is likely to be announced before the weekend.
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