Heavyweight boxer Nagy Aguilera was booed by 73,000 fans and accused of committing one of the ultimate sins in the sport by apparently faking an injury to get out of his fight against Canelo Alvarez stablemate Frank Sanchez.
On the undercard of the Cinco de Mayo sell-out at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington, Texas – which was headlined by Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders while breaking the record for the biggest ever indoor attendance at a US boxing show – unbeaten Sanchez started in dominant fashion.
Sharing Alvarez's trainer Eddie Reynoso from their San Diego gym, big things are expected of the Cuban who has held the WBO-NABO heavyweight crown since 2019 and got into a heated exchange with WBC ruler Tyson Fury on Friday.
As Fury showed support to his fellow Traveler Billy Joe Saunders – stripped of his WBO supermiddleweight strap after his camp threw in the towel before the ninth round last night – at the official weigh in, Sanchez reportedly demanded "Hey! Fight me next".
Fury replied "F*ck you", but if Sanchez wants to challenge the 'Gypsy King' or the winner of his potential blockbuster clash with Anthony Joshua any time soon, he needs to matched against tougher competition moving forward.
DAZN pundit Sergio Mora had hardly talked up the bout by describing Aguilera as both a "gatekeeper" and "journeyman".
But although he weathered the initial storm from Sanchez, Aguilera didn't fail to live up to such billing with his bizarre exit from the action once he'd had enough.
After a punch from Sanchez landed on the side and back of his opponent's head and shoulder, the Dominican tried to call foul play by collapsing on the ropes then falling into a heap on the canvas.
As Aguilera writhed around on the floor in supposed agony for a couple of minutes, the judges eventually called the contest a win for Sanchez by a unanimous technical decision as he led 60-54 on all three cards.
But Aguilera faced a far more scathing court as replays were shown on the big screen at the huge NFL ground.
Seeing his playacting in all its glory, they booed him to high Heaven as DAZN punditry's team questioned how genuine the 6ft 4 giant's reaction was.
Boxing punters online were no less forgiving, demanding that Aguilera should be given "an Oscar for that performance".
"An Oscar for the worst actor ever," came one reply.
"[He] hit his shoulder and rubbed his neck with his wrist...that was a serious dive to hide what looks like a shoulder injury. No foul. Full stop," said another, more specific of the incident.
"[Aguilera] pulled a Neymar Jr," quipped a football fan, in reference to the Brazil star mocked at the 2018 World Cup for his simulation.
As Sanchez improved to 18-0, the now 21-11 Aguilera might never be trusted again on a big show.
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