Atlas Admits Mistake in Gvozdyk's Sole Defeat

Trainer Teddy Atlas revealed that he blames himself for the only defeat of Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs).

"Benavidez is planning to move up to light heavyweight and step into the ring with Gvozdyk, who has only lost to Beterbiev.

Gvozdyk was winning against Beterbiev going into the tenth round, and then he ran out of gas. That was my mistake. I take responsibility for it.

Now, he won’t run out of gas. I won’t believe it now," said Atlas.

In October 2019, Gvozdyk lost to the Russian-born Canadian Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs). The confrontation was stopped in the tenth round.

The official result – technical knockout. Up to the stoppage, Gvozdyk was ahead on two judges’ scorecards – 87-84 and 86-85. The third judge had Beterbiev winning – 87-83.

After that fight, Gvozdyk did not box until 2023. Upon his return, he won against three opponents (two of them by stoppage) and secured a fight against David Benavidez – for the interim WBC title.