In the seventh round, Knyba badly hurt and dropped Andy Ruiz, who survived to the end of the round after referee David Franciosi gave him an extended amount of time to recover.

Ultimately, the 6-foot-8 heavyweight from Poland had to settle for a unanimous decision victory over Ruiz at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, in the third rendition of “The Fight” on DAZN and TNT.

“I believe that if the opportunity came, I can hurt him, which I did,” Knyba said in the post-fight press conference. “I think the referee gave a bit too long of a count. I thought the fight was over.”

Knyba’s jab and 86-inch reach gave the former unified heavyweight champion fits throughout the fight. With 42 seconds left in the seventh round, Knyba (18-1, 11 KOs) threw a jab, then connected with a looping right hand that left Ruiz (35-3-1, 22 KOs) on wobbly legs.

Knyba, 30, landed a series of blistering right hands as Ruiz was hurt against the ropes. Franciosi appeared to be stepping in to stop the fight right as Ruiz, 36, fell to the canvas with 34 seconds left in the round.

Ruiz, of Imperial, California, was still clearly hurt when he rose to his feet with 28 seconds left in the seventh round. By the time Franciosi was done gesticulating with the Mexican American and the action resumed, there were just 11 seconds left in the round.

“I think it should have been stopped,” Knyba said.

The end of the seventh proved to be the most dramatic moment of the fight. Knyba sought the finish early in the eighth, but Ruiz responded with one of his best rounds of the fight, landing a big right hand which had the Pole looking to clinch for the remainder of the round.

Knyba noted that how Ruiz became the unified heavyweight champion was at the forefront of his mind after scoring the knockdown. Ruiz climbed off the canvas to stop Anthony Joshua in the seventh round in June 2019.

“I didn't want to make the same mistake that Anthony Joshua made, where he just came on to him,” Knyba said. “I wanted to stay disciplined, keep my distance and just keep doing what I was doing.”

Knyba won 117-110 on judge Tony Lundy’s scorecard, while judges Glenn Feldman and Kevin Morgan both had it 114-113. Had Knyba not scored the knockdown, the fight would have been scored a majority draw, though, the fight was far more one-sided for him than the scorecards indicated.

“I definitely thought I won more rounds than that,“ Knyba said.