Hadribeaj, who with the win took Samake's No. 10 Ring rating, is now the WBC junior middleweight mandatory challenger.

"The fight went fast for me, there were a lot of exchanges and it became very physical towards the final rounds," Hadribeaj (23-0-1, 8 KOs) told The Ring. "In the end it came down to technique and resilience and in this regard, I had no doubt I could hold on and win."

In the build up, Hadribeaj, who is 10 years Samake's senior, felt his greater experience would win the day and that proved to be the case.

"Of course, the experience is a degree in this sport and it translates to many aspects of the fight like the tempos, the precision, reading your opponent," he said.

"Sometimes people confuse a younger opponent with a stronger opponent but that is not always the case, especially when they have more ego than skill or more pretensions than results. Some younger fighters think too early about the glory of winning and that blurs their thinking. In my case, experience keeps me humble and hard-working and that is key to winning."

Another important factor in the fight seemed to be that Hadribeaj was able to close the show stronger than his opponent.

"Yes, with my preparation I decided to keep fighting despite the wounds and physical strain," said Hadribeaj, who trained for this fight in the Miami heat. "In the end, I believe that experience helps you win a fight but you definitely need to back it up with prime physical preparation."

Hadribeaj is one step closer to being the first Albanian world champion but to achieve that goal he will have to unseat WBC 154-pound titlist Sebastian Fundora.

"It has been many years of sacrifice and preparation for this specific goal and now it is a matter to keep on believing and working hard towards that fight," he said. "Fundora is a great opponent, he has a challenging style and I am looking forward to a fight against him for the belt."

Ahmet Oner did the best for his client in winning the purse bid after their original April 25 date was cancelled the week of the fight.

"From my perspective, it was a wise decision, I gave Ermal stability, I showed him I am backing him after Queensberry didn't deliver and were unable to handle the situation," he said. "I wanted this fight and I had the opportunity and everybody who knows me, I hunt it.

"My target was to get the Fundora fight and now I've reached it and very happy to deal with my old friend Sampson [Lewkowicz] and the PBC guys. [Hadribeaj] has a great chance against the champion, [Fundora's] a good guy, he's proved himself but Ermal also proved himself. I am very proud of Ermal, he won against a powerful fighter."