Following a brutal loss in his promotional debut, ONE Championship’s Eddie Alvarez has released a statement, and gruesome photos of the damage incurred.
Eddie Alvarez’s debut in ONE Championship at A New Era this weekend did not go according to plan. That’s probably an understatement. Alvarez was knocked out in the first round of his lightweight grand prix bout with Timofey Nastyukhin. While the loss was a shock to some, Nastyukhin (13-4) has the ability to be, well, nasty. Ten first round finishes heading into A New Era. Five via KO/TKO. And notable wins over Koji Ando, Amir Khan, and Eduard Folayang.
Alvarez (29-7, 1NC) was certainly knocked out Sunday, but he’s far from finished. The Underground King released a statement via Instagram Tuesday — as well as shocking photos of his injured eye.
“Hey guys First and foremost congrats to Timofey in his victory, He is very deserving of everything that comes with victory and I wish him the best in the continued tournament,” Alvarez wrote.
“Honestly speaking how I fought my One Championship debut is not a reflection of my training, my coaches, my team, it’s not even a reflection of my beliefs,” he continued. “I am sincerely disappointed and confused in my inability to not pull the trigger and my hesitancy on recent fight nights, it’s been quite confusing to figure out the past year or so. Coach Mark always stresses “hesitancy is Death” and it’s not something that is even in my character to do. In this particular fight I waited too long for an opening and paid the ultimate price . The punch that hit me, instantly blinded me and split both eyelids in half. It felt like my eye exploded from the inside and the pain was instant.”
Yikes. That should give you some idea of what Alvarez was contending with at the finish. “From an outsider watching myself I should of have expected the result considering my actions. You have to punch, kick, takedown and pressure to win a fight, I waited. I simply waited too long for the correct timing and opening that never came. Fighting continues to teach me life lessons thru my victories and even more through tough defeats. Victory and defeat are by products of putting it on the line, they have been inescapable throughout my whole life. I hope to be judged on how I adjust and pivot from defeat and behave in victory rather than the result of a small moment in time.”
Alvarez went on to thank his family, friends, coaches and fans before adding that “I will make adjustments and come back true to form.”
His full statement and additional photos are available in the original post below.
