Klitschko beats Chagaev by TKO

Eurosport - Sat, 20 Jun 23:57:00 2009

Ukraine's Vladimir Klitschko retained his world heavyweight titles by handing Ruslan Chagaev his first defeat thanks to a technical knockout after the ninth round in Germany.

BOXING 2009 Vladimir Klitschko of Ukraine celebrates after defeating Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan during their
IBF/WBO and IBO world heavyweight championship title fight in Gelsenkirchen - 0

Klitschko, 33, held on to his IBF, IBO and WBO belts when the referee stopped the fight before the start of the 10th round in front of 61,000 fans with the Uzbek WBA champion-in-recess bleeding from a large cut above his left eye.

Standing 1.99 metres tall, Klitschko initially held the challenger, who is 14 centimetres shorter, at bay with his longer reach before knocking his opponent down with a powerful left-right combination midway through the second round.

Unable to get close to the champion, Chagaev, who had a 25-0-1 record going into the fight, took a series of punishing jabs that slowly chipped away at his defences.

He suffered a three centimetre cut above his left eye in the sixth round but battled on at the Schalke 04 football stadium.

Chagaev, 30, who did not face WBA champion Nikolai Valuev after the Russian pulled out of their fight late last month because the Uzbek had the hepatitis B virus, managed to come back and landed a couple of body blows.

But Klitschko dominated in the eighth and ninth rounds, forcing Chagaev to the ropes and landing dozens of punches as his shaken opponent's eye bled profusely.

Referee Eddie Cotton inspected the wound after the ninth round and decided to stop the fight in favour of the Ukrainian whose impressive performance takes him to 53-3-0.

Klitschko, whose brother Vitaly holds the WBC crown, was initially scheduled to fight David Haye before the Briton pulled out with an injury earlier this month.

Reuters

Comment 27 - 46 of 66

Sort comments by: Most recent
  1. Hi cameron have you noticed how many people are now­ ignoring poor neilsenti our resident hillbilly white­ trash,he was a novalty at first but now people realise­ he knows sweet fu ck all about boxing, he's just­ being blanked,quite funny really and a little bit sad

    From jack torrance, on Tue 23 Jun 3:42PM
  2. Point taken Jack.

    From cameron w, on Tue 23 Jun 2:50AM
  3. hey torrnanse. You no when u sed u were gifted, how r u­ gifted. and dont comant on ma spelin its not a spelin­ comp.

    From neilsenti55, on Tue 23 Jun 1:35AM
  4. hey torrnanse. You no when u sed u were gifted, how r u­ gifted. and dont comant on ma spelin its not a spelin­ comp.

    From neilsenti55, on Tue 23 Jun 1:35AM
  5. Cameron I saw the highlights of the fight and it's­ the brother's sheer size rather than ability which­ makes them so hard to beat,those straight jabs and­ right crosses are basic but so punishing.I'd like­ to think Haye will be mobile enough to get round/under­ them but I honestly think he'll get bullied.Lewis­ was never great he was just huge,that's why­ Klitchko gave him such a rough night,it would take­ someone that big to do it.Okay the Corrie Sanders­ episode,but anyone can be caught cold,look no further­ than Lewis /Rahman.Norton was a great fighter but a big­ heavy like George Foreman made a heavy bag out of­ him,think these boys would do the same,Ali may have­ outpointed them but not heavy handed enough for the­ ko,Frazier I loved to bits but would have been too­ small same goes for Tyson.Big George would have­ murdered them both.We are looking at a dominant force­ in the heavys I agree with Lee B we've been­ conditioned to think if it's not Yank then it's­ there by default.

    From jack torrance, on Mon 22 Jun 9:54PM
  6. Give credit when its due! Klitchkos are the best at the­ moment - if you can beat them - please do!

    As for­ comparisons, Tyson would not survive a fist fight in­ any decent greek village in Donbass (he is just way too­ small) - but that does not make him a bad fighter - or­ produces a vacuum in boxing when he ruled the world.

    From sasha_solaris, on Mon 22 Jun 7:32AM
  7. Sorry Lee, but i truly believe the Klitschko's are­ ALL about marketing and PR; very carefully, and­ expertly manufactured - and also extremely fortunate to­ come along at a time when there was a massive vacuum in­ the heavyweight division!
    They do not appear to have­ the inate fighting prowess of any of the fighters from­ bygone eras, Kenny Norton would've knocked both of­ them out for sure. They are predictable walk forward­ plodders (in my opinion), and are absolutely wide open­ to the over hand booming right hands that a Kenny­ Norton used to throw with aplomb; Haye's speed will­ expose Vladimir here, but i fear he will himself be­ knocked out because he is simply not a heavyweight.­ Don't get me wrong, they are undoubtedly the best­ out there; it really is that bad.

    From cameron w, on Mon 22 Jun 6:58AM
  8. Cameron i do not agree mate. Please do not think this a­ racist comment , but i really think that every Boxing­ lover [ all over the world ] is very much brainwashed­ into thinking that heavyweights should be American /­ African and should cuss everyone they are fighting .­ Its been this way for 50 years . These brothers have­ caught everyone by suprise really , even though they­ are beyond 30. Everyone is catching up on this already­ .. i reckon this is something that will not be seen for­ many years. That performance last night was as good as­ i have seen from any heavyweight since Lewis/ Tyson..­ Trouble is , a fighter only becomes great by beating­ great fighters ... or at least ones who can be made to­ look great. Look , cmon , neither Ken Norton or Leon­ Spinks were great fighters at the time . I was only a­ kid but i remember them coming into the fight as rank­ outsiders. Jack , Neil etc , you may have a better­ memory . The problem is the brothers are thrashing­ everyone and making them look second rate , unlike Ali­ . [ not that i am saying Ali is better or worse ] I­ just think that in a couple of years we are gonna be­ saying what a strange era of heavyweight boxing this­ has been , because we did not see greatness when put in­ front of us , , and the brothers finally being world­ superstars.

    From Lee B, on Mon 22 Jun 5:59AM
  9. handley mate, cudnt agree more. lewis was a bum. and to­ think hes bin abarked into the h o f is a joke. next­ they'll be inviting matthew hatton in. and jerry or­ lance or whoever it is dont comment on my spelling cus­ im here 2 talk boxing not hav a fu king spelling­ competiotipnm u w ankers.

    From neilsenti55, on Mon 22 Jun 4:06AM
  10. cameron, i agree mate.

    From neilsenti55, on Mon 22 Jun 4:03AM
  11. Sorry John, Holyfield never beat Lewis; he got a draw,­ a very, very suspect draw at that - so suspect that it­ was investigated by the FBI.

    From cameron w, on Mon 22 Jun 3:44AM
  12. cameron w
    i agree with you the golden age of­ heavyweights wouldnt entertain anyone who is around­ today,but lenox lewis only fought past there best­ fighters holyfield who beat him once and tyson were way­ past it,he was limited and boring.

    From johnjhandley, on Mon 22 Jun 2:38AM
  13. Jack i watched this sad excuse of a World Championship­ Heavyweight contest; Chagaev is an out-and-out bum par­ excellence mate. I cringe when i look at today's­ heavyweight scene; it really is laughable. I know it is­ sounding repetitive but nonetheless it is true, none of­ these 'fighters' would've been anywhere­ near the Top-20 in the Golden era of Ali, Frazier,­ Foreman, Norton, Shavers etc.
    Both the Klitschko­ brothers are plodders, mind you i will be forever­ grateful to Vitali for knocking outcold the Prancing­ Destroyer Herbie Hide a few years ago; could watch that­ bum getting knocked out every day! Haye, alas won't­ stand an earthly against Klitschko simply because he is­ too light; he is a class above in the skills department­ but once he gets tagged he will fall (remember the­ Cat?). Did you see the fight on the undercard between­ Sprott and this man-mountain Ustinov? I mean Sprott was­ giving away FIVE stone man . . .. crazy! Ustinov has a­ record of 15-0-0, so i expect him to get a shot­ sometime soon; i swear he would get knocked out in the­ Bigg Market - 5 stones advantage, and not once did he­ trouble the chinny journeyman Sprott.
    It really is a­ shame we never got that rematch with Lewis and­ Klitschko because an on-song Lewis would've put­ this plodder to pasture for good - over-rated for sure,­ but sadly they are the best out there . . . . . . . the­ saddest possible indictment on the current state of­ Heavyweight boxing.

    From cameron w, on Mon 22 Jun 2:24AM
  14. I see haye has started mouthing off again,about what he­ is going to do to the klitchko brothers,if i had pulled­ out of yesterdays fight i would try and keep my mouth­ shut for at least a day or two.haye is a good example­ of why boxing is not as good as it once was.He has done­ nothing may be he needs a new partner ,audley harrison­ he promoted himself ,and read his own press and­ believed it,they could call themselves fraudley and­ gayvid promotions,or deludid and gobby.john.

    From johnjhandley, on Sun 21 Jun 11:41PM
  15. torrence, u seem to think that under middle class, we­ have 'HILLBILLY'S', surely it goes, upper,­ middle, working. o no, i forgot, u wudnt no, uve never­ dun a days graft in ur life have ya. MIDDLE CLASS.

    From neilsenti55, on Sun 21 Jun 9:44PM
  16. sirstevejones13 comment number 15 you said and I qoute­ "pull the trigger and shoot the nigg%r" I­ have reported you to yahoo and advised them to contact­ the police,insighting racial hatred is an offence in­ this country

    From jack torrance, on Sun 21 Jun 9:12PM
  17. Lee B, you called that a masterclass against a top 5­ opponent, then that just goes to show how poor the­ heavyweight scene is. that poor that they can't­ even get ppv anymore..

    From johnherbert80, on Sun 21 Jun 9:02PM
  18. p.s sirstevejones is as demented as you you dozey f­ uck,still not convinced you're not the same­ person,couldn't possibly be two people with your­ views alowed among the general population

    From jack torrance, on Sun 21 Jun 9:00PM
  19. neilsenti learn to read, I said "I'll go for­ rsf in the 10th I think the big guy will just have too­ much for him" . .idiot. "fists of all you­ didn't . . ,onj this site" oh dear,you really­ are a fool. Can't believe I'm bothering my­ middle class blach a ss talking to you ,inbred­ hillbilly that you are .Vote BP
    Didn't see the­ fight Lee but the big brothers seem pretty unstoppable­ at the moment,saying that neilsenti has sparred them­ both,so maybe he should give it a shot,sure the­ brothers would be interested in fighting someone who­ moves so effortlessly through lightwelter to­ heavyweight.

    From jack torrance, on Sun 21 Jun 8:58PM
  20. torrence, lance and jeremy, read post 27. and follow up­ with action. it will help ur lives so much.

    From neilsenti55, on Sun 21 Jun 7:24PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account