By Mark Vester
At the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) retained his IBF and WBO heavyweight titles by knocking out WBO mandatory challenger Tony Thompson (31-2, 19 KOs) in the eleventh-round.
Thompson came out give Klitschko a lot of trouble in the first-round with his southpaw style. He would land a good left hand combination that rattled Klitschko. In the second, Klitschko came back with numerous right hands to push Thompson back. A clash of heads in the second opened up a cut above the right eye of Thompson and the cut on the left eyebrow of Klitschko.
Both fighters began to open up with their punches in the third, trading some power at close range. The two continued to battle in round four, Klitschko having a better go at putting his punches together. Thompson began to target the body in round-five, as Klitschko was starting to breathe through his mouth. After a minor rest in the fifth, they began to battle with more power punches in the sixth.
Klitshcko's power began to wear Thompson down in the seventh. There was more power bombs landing on Thompson as he tried to muster up some form of an attack in the eight. Klitshcko continued to dominate with his jabs and right hands in the next few rounds. In the eleventh, Klitschko landed a left-right combination that put Thompson down for the count.
Klitschko will now scheduled to face IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin in the fall.
Full event review to follow.
