World heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko landed a left-hand knockout punch five seconds from the end of the fight to beat challenger Eddie Chambers and retain his WBO, IBO and IBF belts on Saturday.
Ukrainian Klitschko, 33, rattled the 27-year-old American in the second round but had to wait until just before the end of the 12th to stage a dramatic finale and knock him out in front of 51,000 fans at Duesseldorf’s soccer stadium.
Chambers tumbled into the ropes with the referee ending the bout as Klitschko improved his record to 54 victories from 57 fights.
PHOTO: EPA
“I have to give him credit. Chambers is very fast and super strong,” Klitschko said.
“He does not have much punching power but could have probably out-boxed me if I had got tired,” added the beaming Ukrainian in a ringside interview. “But that did not happen.”
Both boxers started off cautiously with Klitschko well aware of “Fast Eddie” Chambers’ speed and the American wanting to avoid the Ukrainian’s reach.
Klitschko, at 1.99m some 14cm taller and 16kg heavier than Chambers, used his jab to wear down an opponent who kept moving around the ring.
It did not take long, though, for the 1996 Olympic champion to hurt Chambers with a series of punishing right-hand punches in the second round that rattled his confidence.
Klitschko, with brother Vitaly — the WBC heavyweight champion — in his corner, landed another big right in the third but Chambers bravely battled on while never really staking a strong claim for the titles.
Chambers landed few big punches and none powerful enough to hurt Klitschko.
The American looked more interested in avoiding the Ukrainian’s knockout punch that had already claimed 47 victims.
A brief break in the ninth round to change a glove gave Chambers some time to recover but Klitschko looked fitter and stronger throughout, landing the knockout blow five seconds from the bell.
Having popped open a local beer bottle and sprayed his team to celebrate the win, Klitschko said he knew throughout the fight his time would come.
“By round six his game plan was out the window,” he said. “I had promised a knock out.”
Klitschko says he is now ready to face mandatory IBF challenger Alexander Povetkin of Russia in the near future.
“We will see who my next opponent will be, but I believe Alexander Povetkin is my official IBF challenger and we can quickly start the discussions for that fight.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
RSS