By Mark Vester

At the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (37-2, 36KOs) knocked out mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez (44-2, 35KOs) in the ninth round.

Gomez out in the opening seconds with a quick flurry to catch Klitschko by surprise. Both fighters were pawing with one hand and trying to land big shots with the other. Gomez caught Klitschko with several hard right hands. In the second, Klitschko began to land the right hand. Gomez took the punches well. The two fighters would tie up often on the inside. In the third, Gomez began to move forward and throw punches but was often countered and/or hit when he tried to come in.

Klitschko was throwing some big shots that caught Gomez flush in the fourth. Gomez's right eye was swelling up at this point from Klitschko's jab. In the middle of the fifth, Gomez's right eye began to bleed after being tagged by a combination by Klitschko. In the final seconds, Gomez was able to get off with some hard punches to close well. The sixth was very physical, with both men landing some big shots in the first minute. There was a clash of heads in the sixth and Klitschko began to have a good flow of blood coming down from a cut that appeared to be above his forehead.

In the first minute of the sevetn, Gomez caught Klitschko with two good lefts to back him up. Klitschko came back with a right hand that sent Gomez down to his knees. Gomez made it up and Klitschko went for the finish. The two fell to the ground when Gomez held on to Klitschko while trying to survive. Klitschko landed some big punches but could not put Gomez away before the bell. Gomez still appeared to be a bit buzzed when they came out for the eight round. By the end of the eight, Gomez was once again in trouble and once again he was saved by the bell.

During the ninth, a point was taken away from Klitschko for what the ref thought was an intentional clash of heads. A few seconds later, Klitschko knocked Gomez down with a big flurry. Gomez made it up and the two would go to war with power punches. Klitschko began to beat him down against the ropes and the ref jumped in to stop the fight.

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