Vitali Klitschko punished Shannon Briggs for 12 brutal rounds and retained his WBC heavyweight title with a unanimous decision on Saturday.
The Ukrainian champion dominated the action, but couldn’t knock down the US challenger.
“I am very surprised by how much he took,” Klitschko said. “He’s got a huge heart.”
Photo: EPA
The judges scored it 120-107, 120-107 and 120-105 for Klitschko, who improved to 41-2. Briggs dropped to 51-6, with one draw.
“I’ve fought George Foreman, I’ve fought Lennox Lewis and Vitali’s the best,” Briggs said. “He hits harder than Foreman, he’s got incredibly fast hands. This was my best fight.”
Klitschko said Briggs, at 38 one year younger, deserved “a lot of respect.”
“I could not believe he was still standing after taking so many punches,” Klitschko said.
Klitschko used his left jab to open up Briggs’ guard, landing a big right two minutes into the opening round.
Two left hooks found Briggs’ chin early in the second round and the Ukrainian landed some more rights, while Briggs sought to hurt Klitschko with blows to the body, without much success.
Klitschko connected with several combinations in the third, but Briggs also found the target with counter-punches. The champion scored with a good right hook late in the round. He also finished the fourth strongly, landing a few good punches to Briggs’ head.
Briggs connected with a couple of good rights in the fifth, his best round, but also had to absorb several hard hits from Klitschko.
Klitschko hit the American repeatedly with left-right combinations in the sixth, but Briggs showed no signs of being shaken.
Klitschko’s big punches began to wear down Briggs midway through the seventh and the American was taking heavy punishment before the round was over. Briggs was saved by the bell after taking two big rights that clearly staggered him.
Briggs stayed upright in the eighth despite taking more heavy blows to the head and finished the ninth, even though Klitschko connected with two huge rights and a left hook late in the round.
The American was little more than a punching bag for Klitschko in the 10th. Briggs hardly rose his hands in defense midway through the round, but Klitschko still could not put him down, despite hitting Briggs at will.
Briggs surprised Klitschko with a clean right in the next. Klitschko replied with two big rights of his own that snapped back Briggs’ head, but the American only shook his head and stayed up.
Klitschko went for the knockout in the final round, but Briggs withstood everything.
VAZQUEZ v HERNANDEZ
AP, KISSIMMEE, Florida
Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Vazquez Jr stopped Mexico’s Ivan Hernandez in the 11th round on Saturday night to retain his WBO super-bantamweight title.
In the second defense of his title, Vazquez gradually wore down Hernandez during the second half of their bout at Silver Spurs Arena.
Vazquez hurt a bruised Hernandez midway through the 10th with a solid right that snapped the challenger’s head back and took away any possible comeback. Vazquez followed Hernandez to the ropes and scored repeatedly with combinations to the head and body.
Vazquez kept it up early in the 11th and Hernandez’s cornermen stepped to the ring apron, forcing referee Telis Asimenios to stop the fight.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and