Wladimir Klitschko kept this one from going to the scorecards.
Five years after he was knocked down three times in a tough victory over Samuel Peter, the IBF and WBO champion battered and bloodied the Nigerian challenger before finally stopping him with 1:22 left in the 10th round of another dominating performance.
Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) unleashed a flurry of blows to send Peter to the canvas, an uppercut and left hook doing the final bit of damage. Referee Robert Byrd began counting but then waved his hands to call the fight over.
“He took a lot of punishment and fought until the end,” Klitschko said. “But from round two, it was clear that his game plan wasn’t working.”
Undefeated WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa of Cuba unanimously outpointed Mexico’s Orlando Salido to take the IBF crown Saturday in a title unification bout at the Palms Casino.
Gamboa (19-0) had winning scores of 116-109, 114-109 and 115-109 from the judges.
“Every time I hit him, Salido would come back and fight,” Gamboa said. “This is the new Gamboa you’re going to see - more controlling, less careless.”
Referee Joe Cortez ruled Salido (34-11-2) knocked down Gamboa in the eighth round, but replays indicated the 28-year-old slipped.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was jailed briefly Friday on a felony charge after his ex-girlfriend alleged he beat her and stole her cell phone during an argument in front of their three children.
Mayweather, 33, said nothing as he was released from the Clark County jail on $3,000 bail after being booked on a grand larceny charge. He could face up to five years in state prison if he is convicted of taking items valued at less than $2,500.
He is scheduled for an initial appearance Nov. 9 in Las Vegas Justice Court.
Mayweather’s lawyer, Richard Wright, denied Mayweather was guilty of the criminal charges based on allegations by Josie Harris.
Heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek continued his pursuit of a title fight by defeating Michael Grant by unanimous decision Saturday night at the Prudential Center.
The victory enabled the 33-year-old Adamek, the former IBF cruiserweight champion, to improve to 42-1 overall and 5-0 as a heavyweight. Adamek also has 27 knockouts.
Former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito was denied a license Wednesday to fight in California, leaving a significant hurdle in the way of a proposed bout against Manny Pacquiao.
Margarito was suspended for at least a year after an illegal, plaster-like substance was found in his hand wraps before a January 2009 bout against Shane Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Margarito’s hands were rewrapped and he lost the WBA title fight.
Devon Alexander retained his WBC and IBF junior welterweight titles with a unanimous 12-round decision over Andriy Kotelnik on Saturday night.
Alexander (21-0) won 116-112 on all three cards.
The 23-year-old St. Louis native scored enough points early to withstand a late charge from Kotelnik (31-4-1), a 31-year-old former WBA super lightweight champion from Ukraine. Read on for more…
Juan Manuel Marquez unanimously outpointed Juan Diaz on Saturday night, picking apart his younger opponent to retain the WBA and WBO lightweight titles.
Marquez captivated the crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center with precise punching and slick defense in a rematch that was nearly as entertaining as the fighters' thrilling first meeting, which Marquez won on a ninth-round stoppage in February 2009.
Cuba's Yoan Pablo Hernandez, right, boxes his challenger Steve Cunningham from the US in an IBF cruiser weight world title fight in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. Hernandez defended his title with a unanimous decision.
