Looking very forward to tonights fight.
I'm going to take Klitschko and I'm just going to guess the 8th.
nice call, thurston!
vitaly dominated sanders, but corrie showed amazing resolve and tenacity....(rocked him just enough times to keep the fight really interesting and really fun fight to watch)
usatoday.com
Klitschko captures title with eighth-round TKO of Sanders
By Dan Rafael, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Vitali Klitschko restored the family name, gained revenge and captured the heavyweight championship with a bloody and brutal eighth-round TKO of Corrie Sanders on Saturday night at the Staples Center.
Vitali Klitschko holds his new heavyweight title belt after defeating Corrie Sanders Saturday night in Los Angeles.
By Mark J. Terrill, AP
With former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis among the 17,320 in the house, Klitschko won the title belt that Lewis vacated upon his retirement in February. And he did it in impressive fashion after weathering some difficult moments in the early going.
But in the end, the 6-7, 245-pound Klitschko's powerful right hands were too much for Sanders, who was bleeding badly and staggering along the ropes barely able to protect himself when referee John Schorle called it off at 2:46.
"This is a big relief," Klitschko said. "I feel a lot of weight off my shoulders. My dream has come true. I knew this would be a tough fight and that Corrie Sanders would give his best. This was my goal."
Klitschko (No. 1 USA TODAY, 34-2, 33 KOs) entered the ring seeming like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was tight all week and wore a scowl. It was understandable. He was fighting two weeks after Lamon Brewster surprisingly knocked out his younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, in a big upset and also was wary of Sanders' big left hand.
That left hand had destroyed Wladimir in two rounds 13 months ago and Klitschko was trying to gain revenge for his brother's defeat.
Klitschko, 32, a Ukrainian living in Los Angeles, did just that with a classic display of power punching. According to punch statistics, Klitschko landed 230 of 413 shots (56%) to Sanders' 51-for-229 (22%).
With the title in hand, Klitschko has satisfied half the family dream. The ultimate dream is for he and his brother to hold titles at the same time, a dream snuffed out by Brewster.
The last time Klitschko was in the Staples Center ring was June 21, 2003, when on 12 days' notice he waged a fierce battle with Lewis. After six rounds, Klitschko was ahead on all three scorecards and had rocked Lewis. However, Klitschko suffered bad facial cuts and the fight was stopped after six rounds, allowing Lewis to retain the title.
Lewis, rather than face Klitschko in a rematch, relinquished his title and retired in February, paving the way for Klitschko and the Lewis-promoted Sanders to face off for the vacant title.
Klitschko would still like the rematch that Lewis promised immediately after their fight.
"I don't know what the future has but I hope that Lennox Lewis decides to come back and fight me in the same arena and in the same ring as we did one year ago," Klitschko said. "He promised after the last fight that we would fight again. Lennox is a gentleman."
Sanders (No. 3, 39-3) began aggressively and rocked Klitschko with huge left hand moments before the first round ended but it was his best burst of the fight. Sanders rocked him again in the second round, but Klitschko recovered and dominated the round with his right hand and a series of heavy jabs.
The third round was the best of the fight as the two battled toe-to-toe and exchanged heavy shots for much of the round. But by the end of the fourth, Klitschko's repeated shots had raised a mouse under Sanders' right eye and he was in control.
Klitschko looked like he might finish Sanders in the final 30 seconds of the fifth round, during which he outlanded Sanders 38 punches to 1. He landed three consecutive right hands and staggered Sanders, who by this time was pouring blood from his nose and appeared quite weary.
Although Sanders landed a solid left hand in the sixth that snapped Klitschko's head back, Sanders absorbed a steady stream of punishment the rest of the round and it was obvious the end was near. His face was a bruised mess and he continued to bleed.
The doctor checked Sanders in the corner after the end of the sixth, but allowed it continue until Klitschko rocked Sanders again and again in the eighth, forcing the fight to be stopped.
"I knew his strategy would be to try to land one big punch at a time and if there was an explosion then he would try to make another explosion," Klitschko said. "I underestimated his speed a little bit. He had much faster hands. I was surprised he never went down. He took so many punches it was unbelievable. And then he always came back with punches of his own."
Sanders was taken to the hospital because of a left ear injury and didn't grant any interviews, but manager Vernon Smith said, "He was exhausted and tired and he did not disagree with the referee's decision to stop the fight. His biggest regret is he couldn't land his left better but he is fine and making jokes right now."
For Sanders, 38, the road to the title shot was a surprising one. The 6-4, 235-pound South African slugger, was not supposed to pose much threat when he faced Wladimir Klitschko last year. But that spectacular knockout rejuvenated a fading 15-year career and vaulted him to the top of the rankings.
Because of boxing's rough politics Sanders hadn't fought since beating Wladimir. And now, he might not fight again.
"He got beaten by a better fighter," Smith said of Sanders, an easy going sort more content playing golf with his South African countryman and friend Ernie Els, the PGA star, and raising water buffalo on his ranch. "He'll take a long holiday, rest and play golf and then re-evalute boxing."
The fight was the finale of a three-week stretch in which the four major heavyweight belts were all at stake. Brewster won a vacant one with his KO of Wladimir. Last week, John Ruiz and Chris Byrd retained their titles in unspectacular fashion. Ruiz stopped Fres Oquendo in the 11th round of a fight thoroughly devoid of action until the knockout flurry. Byrd saved his title with a draw against Andrew Golota.
Those results exposed the gaping hole at the top of the division since Lewis retired, and the winner of Klitschko-Sanders is in position to be recognized by the general public as the bona fide heavyweight champ |
