Eddie Hearn: Boxing needs VAR after Charlie Edwards controversy vs Julio Cesar Martinez

The world flyweight champion was initially stopped in three rounds before WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman changed the decision to a no contest

Enthralling, chaotic and controversial, Charlie Edwards vs Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar delivered something rarely seen in boxing.

Eddie Hearn admitted as much after the world flyweight title fight, still beaming and pleasantly surprised after WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman shockingly stormed the ring to reverse a third-round knockout for the Mexican and announce a no contest.

A sickening, illegal body shot with Edwards defenceless on the canvas proved decisive in preventing him from beating the count.

Referee Mark Lyson failure to disqualify the challenger saw Sulaiman wield his lofty power, shining a light on boxing’s apparent thirst for VAR in contrast to the sizeable crowd who are bemoaning its introduction in football.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before, I think it was completely, 100 per cent, the right thing to do,” Hearn remarked.

“Nine out of 10 people would have gone, ‘we’re going to review it, the committee is going to review it,’ but he said, ‘I don’t need to f***ing review it, I’ve seen it on there, it’s a no contest’.

“The new conversation to come out of this is, the WBC’s instant replay system, which has been used quite a bit now, is not allowed by the British Boxing Board of Control, but when you’ve got 12 screens around the ring, you can’t ignore it, so is it time now for the British Boxing Board of Control to say, ‘yes we will have the replay system for WBC events’?

“Or, do we just implement it anyway, you can’t implement it everywhere because not all shows have big screens. but some of them, on the replay system, have a monitor at ringside that they can watch back.”

In a sport that so often shoots itself in the foot with outrageous judging and politics depriving fans from witnessing the very best facing off against one another, VAR could remove some chance of all concerned being left with a bitter taste following big fights.

The decision could well mean Edwards ends his world flyweight reign without defeat in the ring, having come perilously close to missing the 112-pound weight limit, with Hearn admitting he will consider a move to super flyweight.

Martinez lands a body shot while Edwards is down (Action Images via Reuters)

But before his return to the ring, Edwards may well have sparked a greater impact on the sport than he could have envisaged, and Hearn fails to see the downside to utilising video replays in world title fights moving forward.

“Essentially, it’s VAR for boxing, everybody else is doing it,” Hearn added. “When somebody is fighting for a world title, and it’s his livelihood.

“I’m in favour, what’s the downside? It’s not like it’s going to slow the game down. That’s the problem they talk about with football and cricket. There’s this big controversy, he can’t get up, so let’s have a look at it. You didn’t need to look at that one more than once.

Edwards celebrates after the decision is changed to a no contest (Getty)

“They look at it very quickly and they rule on it very quickly. You’re given time to recover, say there’s a low blow, and the referee says you’re disqualified, and then they go, ‘hang on let’s take a look at that’, and actually that wasn’t a low blow. It’s not as easy as it sounds all the time.

“I think Mauricio was great because he just said no, I’m the president, I don’t need to look at this again, it’s a no contest.”