City man Reffell robbed after brutal, bloody fight at the O2 Arena

There were boos from the crowd at the O2 Arena after the judges awarded opponent Ryan Jett a unanimous decision after five gruelling rounds inside the three-sided trigon.

There were clearly those who felt Reffel had done enough in the closing rounds to snatch the verdict for Team Europe against Team USA, but there was no disputing the excitement the fighters gave the crowd at the venue and millions more watching on television around the world.

Ringsiders voted Reffell-Jett the fight of the night.

Both fighters left the trigon bloodied and battered and Reffell said afterwards there could be a rematch.

Reffell looked to be up against it as Jett had won his previous two bareknuckle fights inside a round apiece.

But Reffell took his best punches without falling – and hit him back.

He was cut on his left cheek in the second before rallying to inflict damage to Jett’s right eye with left hooks.

Jett came out for the last with his right eye virtually swollen shut and though Reffell appeared to win the round, it wasn’t enough on the judges’ scorecards.

Team USA won the Police Gazette International Cup by a 6-3 scoreline and in a supporting bout, there was a points win for Peterborough fighter Ben Robinson.

He made his bareknuckle debut against the seasoned Pole Szymon Szynkiewicz and beat him unanimously on points over five rounds.