“Wladimir was very smart not to throw too many punches and tobe very patient and to work behind his left jab.”
Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his IBF heavyweight crownby stopping Hasim Rahman in the seventh round at SAP Arena on Saturday.
Klitschkohit the shorter, older and heavier Rahman at will throughout, and afterlanding a left-right-left combination against the cornered American,referee Tony Weeks stepped in to end the contest 44 seconds into theround. Rahman didn’t appear upset.
Klitschko had knockeddown Rahman in the previous round with successive left hooks in theone-sided bout before more than 10,000 spectators.
Thetechnical knockout in Klitchsko’s sixth defense of the IBF belt — andthird this year — improved the Ukrainian-born fighter to 52-3 with 46KOs. He hasn’t lost in more than four years.
Rahman, the two-time heavyweight champion who stepped in as areplacement opponent only last month, struggled to get inside thetaller Klitschko’s reach, and dropped to 45-7-2.
“He foughta very smart, intelligent fight,” said Klitschko’s trainer, EmanuelSteward. “Wladimir was very smart not to throw too many punches and tobe very patient and to work behind his left jab.”
From thebeginning, it soon became apparent that Rahman was struggling toovercome the 9-centimeter (31/2-inch) height advantage enjoyed by thechampion. Rahman had to lean in drastically to find openings, andKlitschko easily fended off his few punches.
“I was surprised, but he was much slower,” Klitschko said.
Rahmandid little more than lean on the ropes for a time and guard his face.He looked reinvigorated in the fourth round, using his whole torso tomake ambitious attacks, often connecting with Klitschko’s body.
Buthe rarely landed blows above Klitschko’s shoulders, and theconsequences were clear when Klitschko dropped Rahman early in thesixth with two hard lefts to the side of his head. Rahman got up butspent the remainder of the round in the corner, taking a sustainedbeating.
Another flurry at the opening of the seventh ended 36-year-old Rahman’s challenge.
Klitschko, 32, also retained the minor WBO and IBO belts.
Klitschko was originally scheduled to face Alexander Povetkin (16-0), but the Russian pulled out with an ankle injury.
Klitschkobelieved there was enough rising talent in the division to bechallenged, citing Povetkin, fellow Russian Nikolai Valuev, andAmerican Cristobal Arreola. He also mentioned British boxer David Haye,who monopolized the post-fight press conference with a challenge toKlitschko’s older brother, Vitali, the WBC champion.
“I want to fight him because he’s the big one,” Haye said. “He in my opinion is the best fighter.”
Vitali Klitschko said he might fight Haye in 2009.
“I would gladly fight against him,” Vitali Klitschko said.
Onthe undercard, former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe won an8th-round points decision over Germany’s Gene Pukall. It was just thethird fight in a decade for the 41-year-old American and his first inthree years.
Bowe (45-1, 33 KOs) had been training inGermany since September in an effort to get his stamina up and hisweight down. The work paid off in the ring, where he kept up with33-year-old Pukall (14-13-2, 12KOs) and bested him with an unshowystream of careful head shots.