While the recent decision to keep Alexander Volkanovski on top of the Pound-for-Pound rankings is extremely controversial, the featherweight champion has pulled a recent move that makes him seem worthy of the P4P #1 place. When asked about how he felt about the fight’s result, the Aussie gave a measured response.
He discussed the fight saying, “Good, close fight… back and forth. You’re gonna hear people say, ‘Robbery!’ And things like this. Close fights like that, you can never say they’re robberies. Can you see it going my way? Yeah. Can people see it going his way? Yeah. That’s gonna happen.”
“Did I think we did enough after watching back the tape? Yeah, I do. I’m sure he would say the same when he watches it… We knew it was close. So, I ain’t gonna say I definitely thought I won. I knew it could’ve went either way… Not a robbery,” he added.
After the fight, Volk tweeted, “Just watched the fight, I definitely think I won 2,3 and 5. Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime!”
What made Alexander Volkanovski change his mind?
If we pay close attention to Alex’s reaction after the fight, the Australian was not claiming robbery or anything similar. Such a similar reaction was seen from former light-heavyweight champion Jan Blkachowicz after he fought Magomned Ankalaev for the title. The Polish fighter also thought he had lost the fight though he backtracked on his comments slightly later on.
Alexander seems to have enough class in him to take the defeat to his stride, maybe because the fight was so close. The former 200 lb player probably hopes he can defeat Makhachev should they have a rematch. Of course, the 145 lber needs to understand that the location and some others may have worked in his favor this time around but such advantages are not guaranteed.
When would you like to see the rematch?
