Fact: Did you expect there would be a lot of clinching and dirty boxing from Billam Smith in the first round?
Matthews Masternak: I expected it because he always fights like this. I thought it would be easier to break Clinch, but he did it with great skill. In England, judges allow more, so it was a very uncomfortable element of the fight.
Oh, there will be penalties! Once again, Legia fans upset UEFA by mistake in their match
Matthews Masternak vs. Chris Pillam Smith
You were much faster than your opponent in this duel and you could easily hit him with different combos. Did you expect your opponent to be so stubborn?
I saw that speed would be my advantage and I wanted to rely on it to overcome his attacks. Chris is a tough guy and there’s no use kicking a horse. I thought speed and cunning would be on my side, and physical strength and half-distance fighting would be on his side.
The athletes will have a blast. The German Federation will provide sobriety tests before the competition
Matthews Masternak is injured. Two ribs were broken and displaced
You may have watched this fight with Belam Smith many times. Do you know exactly at what stage of the fight the injury occurred?
It’s hard for me to see when that happened because it wasn’t after the collision. I spoke to a doctor who told me that the damage to the intercostal muscles was caused by a twisting of the torso. It probably happened during a brawl in a clinch.
What is your prognosis?
I had a number of tests done and it turned out that the injury was more serious than I expected. Earlier, two English doctors ruled out a fracture and said my intercostal muscles were damaged, but it was nothing serious. However, their diagnosis turned out to be wrong.
In a Polish clinic I discovered that I had a torn intercostal muscle when I twisted my torso. I also have two broken and displaced ribs (8th and 10th). Further tests will show whether surgery is needed. I hope this rings true, because there has been a lot of speculation in the media.
You must have had a tough battle with yourself in your head between the seventh and eighth rounds.
I don’t remember this moment to the end, because in such situations you think about life, survival and breathing difficulties. Then don’t look at the fact that it’s a fight for the world championship. I’m analyzing it more now. In the seventh round there was an unintentional headbutt on the torso and that probably aggravated the injury, because I already felt it in the sixth round.
What was your first thought when you saw Billam Smith say in interviews that they had a plan to attack your ribs before the fight?
I immediately thought that they chose this tactic because the champion, who lost five rounds out of seven, had to go out with his face. Obviously now he’s putting together this whole strategy to make people think he won because of his plan and not because I got injured.
Will Matheus Masternak fight for the world champion belt again?
How do you think global promoters will view this fight? Would they want to make a rematch?
I know that Knokout Promotion will do their best to make a rematch happen. In England they already know that I will be an uncomfortable competitor. My fight with Bellam Smith received widespread attention in Poland and abroad. English fans confirm on social media that Chris was very lucky in this match.
Hopefully this pressure will lead to a rematch. Now Bellam Smith will compete with Richard Riakporh. I’m curious who will win this battle. I don’t think that after my fight with Chris, I won’t have a name left in the British market. Maybe I’ll face the winner of this fight.
He was expelled from the Polish national team due to his drinking alcohol. And now he says, “We looked like we were from ‘The Hangover’.”
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