BERN (AP) ― Wladimir Klitschko stopped Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night.
The 36-year-old champion Klitschko, 58-3 with 51 knockouts, floored Thompson with a big right hand near the end of the fifth round at Stade de Suisse, and the 40-year-old American never recovered.
The Ukrainian champion dropped Thompson again in the sixth, and referee Sam Williams gave the challenger a standing count before stopping the fight at 2:56.
Wladimir Klitschko shows off his championship belts on Saturday.( AP-Yonhap News)
“Thompson was not so easy to box. I’m satisfied,” Klitschko said.
In 2008, Klitschko stopped Thompson in the 11th round.
Thompson, the mandatory challenger nominated by the IBF, fell to 36-3 (24 KO).
After the fight, Klitschko led the 22,000 crowd in signing “Happy Birthday” to trainer Emanuel Steward, who turned 68 on Saturday.
“Tony Thompson is very hard to hit,” Steward said. “Tony was watching Wladimir’s right hand all night.”
A cagey opening round was followed by a scrappy second, as Klitschko twice wrestled Thompson to the floor.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
