Wladimir Klitschko is beginning to stand over the world heavyweight division like the dominant force the sport needs and that he once threatened to be. Klitschko retained his IBF heavyweight title with a one-sided win over Lamon Brewster in Cologne on Saturday night, a victory all the more remarkable after he boxed from the first round with a broken left hand.
Brewster was pulled out by his corner at the end of the sixth round an utterly defeated man. The American had beaten Klitschko for the WBO title in Las Vegas in 2004, when the Urkrainian dramatically ran out of steam in the fifth round. On Saturday, Brewster was barely able to land a punch as Klitschko, 31, controlled matters with his left jab and ramrod right.
Klitschko wants to face the winner of an October unification bout between the WBA and WBO champions Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimov. “I want to be the absolute champion like Lennox Lewis was,” he said.