In the post fight interviews, Abraham said through a translator, "I started well, and I thought I did good the first three rounds He didn't hit me, and I was blocking a lot of his shots. But then I tried for the knockout, and I couldn't do it. I cramped up, and I got too tense." Ward had to adjust his game plan as he was unable to fight on the inside. He said, "We're going to the final, baby. Arthur is strong, and he's a hard hitter, we showed that we can win in a way other than our original game plan [... "I wish the ref had let me fight on the inside, because that's what I had planned for. But we made adjustments and got the win."