Katie Taylor's win over Delfine Persoon was indicative of the politics in professional boxing, says WBO featherweight world champion Heather Hardy.
The 22-0 New Yorker will return to MMA next weekend at Bellator 222 in Madison Square Garden aiming to bring her record in the sport to 3-1 against Taylor Turner, but found time to watch the lightweight unification bout at the same venue last weekend.
And in an exclusive chat with Mirror Sport, Hardy argued Persoon should have been awarded the fight over Taylor, saying: "I don't think that either girl should have had their titles taken away from them that night.
"I think it was a close fight, personally I thought Persoon had it by one round but knowing that Katie was the promoter's girl and it was her show, a draw was what I expected.
"To make that girl [Delfine Persoon] walk out of the stadium empty handed... She defended her title, she didn't lose it.
"I thought that was just one of the many ways boxing doesn't care about its combatants, it's all political and that's really discouraging to a boxer to think about fighting any longer."
A number of fans and pundits argue that the razor-close fight was a 'robbery' of Persoon, but Hardy believes that she may have just edged it, continuing: "For me, Persoon stole the fight in the last five rounds.
"How a fighter carries themselves in the last half of the fight, the championship rounds, tells all and she won four of the last five rounds.
"The first five were super close and could have gone either way, and of course you give them to the promoter's girl.
"But she ran away with the end of that fight and I just thought to take her titles away when she didn't get beat, I just thought 'what a sad way to go out'.
"I don't think that she lost them. I know she'll get the rematch and make a bit of money which is beautiful, but as an athlete and a competitor there's nothing that makes up for that feeling of loss."
However, the problems with the decision won't, according to the 37-year-old dual sport athlete, take away from Taylor's remarkable sporting achievements.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm a tremendous Katie Taylor fan," she stressed. "Practically one of the biggest.
"What she's done for women's combat sports, for women's boxing, she's an advocate for female athletes, I'm 100% team Katie Taylor, but I call it the way I see it and that's how I see it.
"Katie will go back, look at the tape, learn from her mistakes and win every round in the rematch and beat her 100-91, she'll box the breaks off her. That was Delfine's moment that got robbed from her."
And asked if she would fight the 14-0 Irishwoman, Hardy said there have been discussions, but she's unsure of her future in the sport.
"There's been talk of me and Katie getting in the ring together, it is possible, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I might decide to make a run for Bellator and see how far I can go here."
Bellator 222 takes place at Madison Square Garden on June 15, and also features Irish fan favourite Dillon Danis' return to the cage.
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