Monday 15th December 2008 13 Klitschko beats Rahman to retain title by Patrick Mcgroarty Rahman got up but spent the remainder MANNHEIM, (AP) - of the round in the corner, taking a sus- successfully defend- tained beating. ed his IBF heavyweight crown by stop- Another flurry at the opening of the ping in the seventh seventh ended 36-year-old Rahman’s round at SAP Arena on Saturday. challenge. Klitschko hit the shorter, older and Klitschko, 32, also retained the heavier Rahman at will throughout, and minor WBO and IBO belts. after landing a left-right-left combina- Klitschko was originally scheduled tion against the cornered American, ref- to face (16-0), but eree Tony Weeks stepped in to end the the Russian pulled out with an ankle contest 44 seconds into the round. injury. Rahman didn’t appear upset. Klitschko believed there was enough Klitschko had knocked down rising talent in the division to be chal- Rahman in the previous round with suc- lenged, citing Povetkin, fellow Russian cessive left hooks in the one-sided bout , and American Cristobal before more than 10,000 spectators. Arreola. He also mentioned British The technical in boxer , who monopolized the Klitchsko’s sixth defense of the IBF belt post-fight press conference with a chal- - and third this year - improved the lenge to Klitschko’s older brother, Vitali, Ukrainian-born fighter to 52-3 with 46 the WBC champion. KOs. He hasn’t lost in more than four “I want to fight him because he’s the years. big one,” Haye said. “He in my opinion Rahman, the two-time heavyweight is the best fighter.” champion who stepped in as a replace- said he might fight ment opponent only last month, strug- Haye in 2009. gled to get inside the taller Klitschko’s “I would gladly fight against him,” reach, and dropped to 45-7-2. Vitali Klitschko said. “He fought a very smart, intelligent On the undercard, former heavy- fight,” said Klitschko’s trainer, Emanuel weight champion won an Steward. “Wladimir was very smart not 8th-round points decision over to throw too many punches and to be Germany’s Gene Pukall. It was just the very patient and to work behind his left third fight in a decade for the 41-year-old jab.” Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, left, and referee Tony Weeks from the U.S. watch Hasim Rahman from the U.S. American and his first in three years. From the beginning, it soon became on the floor after being punched by Klitschko in a IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight world championship fight in the SAP Bowe (45-1, 33 KOs) had been training apparent that Rahman was struggling to Arena in Mannheim, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008. Klitschko won the fight by technical knock out in the 7th in Germany since September in an overcome the 9-centimeter (3 1/2-inch) round. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle) effort to get his stamina up and his height advantage enjoyed by the cham- weight down. The work paid off in the pion. Rahman had to lean in drastically slower,” Klitschko said. round, using his whole torso to make Klitschko’s shoulders, and the conse- ring, where he kept up with 33-year-old to find openings, and Klitschko easily Rahman did little more than lean on ambitious attacks, often connecting quences were clear when Klitschko Pukall (14-13-2, 12KOs) and bested him fended off his few punches. the ropes for a time and guard his face. with Klitschko’s body. dropped Rahman early in the sixth with with an unshowy stream of careful head “I was surprised, but he was much He loo