Klitschko Retains WBC Title, KO's Sosnowski In 10th Round

Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO's) retained his WBC heavyweight title, knocking out a tough Albert Sosnowski (45-3-1, 27 KO's) at 2:20 in the tenth round of a highly competitive fight. The victory was Klitschko's eighth in a row.

In round one, Klitschko utilized his left jab, while Sosnowski aggressively looked for openings. Klitschko attacked Sosnowski more in the second round. Still, Sosnowski used lots of lateral movement and feints, as he tried to stay away from Klitschko's power. 

Sosnowski landed a counter left hook in round three that briefly drew cheers from the crowd. Sosnowski showed great self-belief, moving assertively toward Klitschko the entire round. 

In the first minute of round four, Klitschko caught Sosnowski with a short right. After that, Sosnowski dictated the pace of the round, keeping extremely busy by getting his punches off before Klitschko. 

However, Klitschko answered with a strong fifth round, striking Sosnowski with multiple left hooks and right hand shots. MMA GEAR

Klitschko landed the cleaner punches in round six, hitting Sosnowski early with right hands and left hooks. Nevertheless, Sosnowski was very forceful with his jab in the second half of the round. 

Again, Klitschko was more fluid with his punches in round seven, connecting more often than Sosnowski. Yet, Sosnowski relentlessly kept putting on pressure.

Sosnowski landed the best punch in round eight, sending Klitschko back after connecting with a stinging overhand right. Shortly thereafter, Klitschko answered with a clean left hook. 

Klitschko opened the ninth round by landing an overhand right. Then, Klitschko used his left jab steadily and found his range, which enabled him to hammer Sosnowski all through the round with right hand blows.

In round ten, Klitschko's right hand was finding the target easily. With 32 seconds to go in the round, Klitschko floored Sosnowski with a powerful overhand right that sent him into the corner. Referee Jay Nady immediately stopped the bout.

 BANKS, GAVERN BATTLE TO MAJORITY DRAW

In other heavyweight action, Johnathon Banks (24-1-1, 17 KO's) and Jason Gavern (19-7-4, 8 KO's) battled to a twelve round majority draw in a fight filled with excessive holding. Official scores were 115-111 for Banks and 113-113 twice.

In round four, Banks used his left jab repeatedly, but put little behind it. Then, he connected with a short left hook to Gavern's head. Gavern was tying Banks up at every possible moment. Finally, Gavern was deducted one point for his wrestling tactics in the sixth round. 

Both men exchanged solid left hooks in round seven. However, Banks lost one point for unnecessary holding. In round eight, Banks connected with a quick left hook that seemed to floor Gavern. Yet, referee Juergen Langos ruled Gavern had slipped. After that, Banks landed a series of damaging overhand rights. 

Banks momentarily stunned Gavern with a right - left combination in round nine after connecting with a counter left hook.

In an uneventful twelfth round, Gavern pressed the action and scored with his right hand when he got Banks against the ropes. Banks did not utilize his jab enough in the final round.

Andrade Forces Lucas To Quit

31-year-old Librado Andrade (29-3, 22 KO's) bounced back from a knockout loss against Lucian Bute, as veteran Eric Lucas (39-8-3, 15 KO's) could not persevere after eight completed rounds due to a severe cut sustained above his left eye.

Lucas, 39, landed some sharp counter punches in round one, but Andrade scored early with an aggressive body attack. After getting struck with a right uppercut in round two, Lucas hammered Andrade with a flush right. However, Andrade shook off the effects of the punch quickly, and opened up an arsenal of vicious body and head shots. Then, Andrade opened a gash above Lucas' right eye when he landed a piercing left hook. Toward the end of round three, Andrade landed a series of left hooks to Lucas' body.

Andrade continued his assault in round four, hurting Lucas when he unleashed multiple shots. Next, Andrade threw and landed a large volume of punches in round five subsequent to Lucas catching him with a harsh left hook.

In the seventh round, Andrade connected with consecutive left hook - right hand combinations. Afterward, Lucas countered swiftly with a decisive left hook, but Andrade ripped off a string of devastating uppercuts in close range. Consequently, Andrade sent Lucas into the ropes in round eight when he landed a concrete right hand. At this point, Lucas was awfully bloodied and bruised, although he was giving a valiant effort. It seemed a right hand shot from Andrade opened a massive cut above Lucas' left eye. A ringside physician briefly examined it during the round, and let the fight pick up again. After that, Lucas came on strong instantly, however, he was met with an onslaught of grueling punches from Andrade. When the ringside physician examined the cut for a second time following round eight, he ruled that Lucas should not keep going.

 UPSHAW DEFEATS ST. JUSTE

In a middleweight bout, Marcus Upshaw (13-4-1, 6 KO's) won a ten round, split decision versus Renan St. Juste (21-2-1, 14 KO's). Official scores were 96-93 and 95-94 for Upshaw, while St. Juste received a 95-94 scorecard. MMA Training Gloves

Upshaw, 29, seriously hurt St. Juste in round four when he connected with a lunging left hook. After absorbing the blow, St. Juste turned away and moved toward the ropes. Referee Jean-Guy Brousseau appropriately scored a knockdown in favor of Upshaw. St. Juste, 38, continually got beat to the punch by Upshaw from the sixth round until the end of the fight. Upshaw comfortably landed his punches in spots, scoring with crisp left hooks and straight rights repeatedly. As the fight moved into the later rounds, St. Juste could not match the pace of the younger, faster Upshaw.