Firat Arslan Talks About His Knockout Loss To Herelius

The return of former champion Firat Arslan, 39, was not successful after two years of inactivity. However, Arslan's team attributes his defeat by knockout in the eleventh assault to dehydration rather than the shock attacj of the newly crowned interim-champion Steve Herelius.

"The water was bitter," said coach Michael Timm, "I'm sure Firat would have won that fight on points." Herelius initiated the fight vigorously as expected, but Arslan was in control until he suddenly ran out of stamina."

Arslan answered some questions after spending the night in the hospital.

Firat, you're giving interviews after spending the night in the hospital, how do you feel?

I'm pretty good, relatively, but spending the night in the hospital just as a precaution.

What really happened?

Although I had enough water to drink, I was completely dehydrated.

Why? Did you work too hard? Was the room too hot?

I do not know. We have to take the time to analyze it. I only know I was in excellent condition and well trained.

How big is this setback?

Of course it is very big. I'm sorry for the fans. I wish I could give them the gift of a victory. I had it all planned and until the end everything was fine. I'm sure I would have won on points. Losing that way is very bitter, and I thank the fans who had their fingers crossed for me in the arena and on TV. They were a great audience.

What happens now?

Now I rest for a while. I know I would have won the match under normal circumstances and I hope there is a rematch.

Universum's physician, Dr. Michael Ehnert: "Although he drank two liters of water in the clubhouse, because of his physical effort he was completely dehydrated. There was a significant loss of fluid and minerals which caused Firat to collapse. Even in the ambulance, he was injected with four liters of whey minerals to get him stabilized. No artificial respiration was needed before reaching the hospital. For safety, we take a scan, which showed nothing abnormal. Although Firat felt much better, we recommend spending the night in the hospital for observation."