Most believe Richards did more than enough to hand Ramirez his first defeat. Instead, two of the three judges saw it the other way last Thursday at Montreal Casino in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which left Richards and his trainer aghast.

“It hit me hard today,” Coldwell told The Ring.

“I'm seeing just what reality is, really. I was back in the gym with Steven Cairns [earlier this week], and you just feel you should have another champion in the gym. We should be on a high. We should be absolutely buzzing, and again, we were talking about it, it was just flat disbelief and disappointment for Lerrone because we know that he did literally everything he was supposed to do to win the fight.”

It was a long and winding road to arrive at a fight that should have changed Richards’ life for the better. Richards (19-2, 4 KOs) and Ramirez (23-0, 19 KOs) were originally scheduled to fight in February, but acute appendicitis caused the latter to withdraw on the day of the weigh-in. The last-minute cancellation meant an entire training camp and trip to Canada were for naught.

Four months later, Richards finally got his shot against Ramirez, at the time The Ring’s No. 3-ranked light heavyweight.

Richards, a slick southpaw from London, largely thwarted the hard-hitting southpaw from Venezuela, who entered the fight having won four straight fights by knockout.

Coldwell felt Richards was largely in control, but still wanted him to keep his foot on the gas in the championship rounds.

“I was adamant with him, keep winning the rounds,” Coldwell said. “It wasn't a case of 'right, we’re X amount of rounds in front, take the foot off the pedal.' That's why we came to the end of the 11th, I said to him, ‘Listen, I need you to win this round. I need you not to take your foot off the pedal. Keep pushing to win the round. Don't let him outwork you.

“I had a feeling that obviously they're going to look to shaft him in some way, and I thought you don't want it to be one of those where you take your foot off the pedal the last round and then it's a draw because you lost the last round or he nicks a decision in the last round. I knew they were going to try and screw him, but so you just wouldn't keep winning the rounds, they can't screw you.”

The final bell rang, and Coldwell believed Richards won at least nine of the 12 rounds and was going to leave enemy territory with the best win of his career. Then, as time passed before the decision was announced, Coldwell’s hope slowly started to dissipate and his feeling that Richards was going to get robbed began to grow.

Judge Ricardo Duncan’s scorecard read 115-113 for Ramirez, then the second judge, Nicolas Esnault, had it 116-112 for Richards. Coldwell believed the fight was going to be scored a draw before the final scorecard was read.

He pleaded internally that Richards wouldn’t get ‘shafted’ by the decision. The final judge, Rodolfo Aguilar, had it 115-113 for Ramirez, and Coldwell’s worst nightmare became a reality.

“I think the first thing that came out of my mouth was bull—t,” Coldwell said. “I just shouted bs across the ring, and it was just BS. It was a BS decision, that's what it was. What pisses me off about this sport is there's no accountability for judges. Yet, everybody else in the sport is accountable to their actions. Everybody else, a boxer has a bad night and loses through a poor performance, it's on him and his team, but these judges, they get away with murder.

“You’re ruining people's lives.”

Coldwell hopes that Richards can land a rematch with Ramirez, though, he’d prefer it to go to purse bids and that it would land on more neutral ground. Richards appealed the decision to the WBA and is seeking an immediate rematch against Ramirez.

If that comes to fruition, he believes Richards’ confidence from the 12 rounds against Ramirez and knowing he can fight on the inside could lead to an even more impressive performance the second time around.

“If there's a rematch, Lerrone will absolutely torture him next time,” Coldwell said. “He'll be even better next time.”

For now, though, Coldwell and Richards will have to deal with the heartbreak that too many fighters have had to deal with after being on the wrong end of a bad decision. They now have to hope Richards can attain another opportunity to change his life for the better.

“Had he come up with the interim WBA light heavyweight title, he is now in the big leagues,” Coldwell said. “He’s at the top table. He's got something there. His purses go up, his exposure goes up, opportunities go right through the roof, involving big fights and money that can change his family's life.

“This is what these fighters are in for. They're living the life from young kids chasing a dream, get an opportunity, and now that he's been screwed, the money drops down again and it affects fighters' lives.”

Since the fight, Ramirez has dropped to No. 9 in The Ring's light heavyweight rankings, while Richards has entered the top 10 at No. 8.