Vladimir Klitschko of Ukraine retained the International Boxing Federation heavyweight world title on Saturday defeating Calvin Brock in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden.

Brock crumpled to the canvas after taking a devastating right-hand punch to the jaw. The American rose to his feet after the count but was so wobbly that referee Wayne Kelly waved an end to the scheduled 12-round bout at 2:10 of the seventh.

“It was a left hook, straight right combination,” Klitschko told reporters. “I should have landed it that way earlier in the fight. But it took that much time to get my rhythm and distance. He’s a good defensive fighter.”

Klitschko, 30, improved to 47-3 with 42 of his wins coming within the distance.

The 31-year-old Brock, a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing team, suffered his first defeat after winning his opening 29 professional bouts.

“I saw the punch coming but I couldn’t react fast enough,” Brock said. “He’s strong.”

Earlier, Muhammad Ali was lavished with cheers of “Ali, Ali, Ali,” when he arrived to take a front row seat for his daughter Laila Ali’s defense of her super middleweight title against fellow-American Shelley Burton.

The 28-year-old WBC women’s champion unleashed a powerful left-right combination that busted Burton’s nose in the fourth round. With blood pouring from the challenger’s face, the referee stopped the bout and Ali improved her record to 23-0.
Klitschko was making the first defense of the IBF and International Boxing Organization (IBO) crowns he won by stopping American Chris Byrd in the seventh round last April in Mannheim, Germany.

The 6-foot-6 Klitschko, who had a four-inch height and reach advantage, relied on his stinging jab in the early rounds while Brock countered with left and right hooks to the body.

Klitschko won five of the first six rounds on all the judges’ scorecards, but the champion was not dominating the defensive-minded Brock.

The bout began to turn after an accidental clash of heads in the sixth round opened a cut over Klitschko’s left eye, sending blood trickling down the side of his face.

“I got mad,” said the champion.

Klitschko, who required stitches after the bout, fought with more urgency from that point and unleashed his firepower in the seventh.

Looking to land his powerful right, Klitschko began throwing punches in combination. He set up the knockdown with a left hook, hard right combination, following up with a sharp jab and a short, devastating right to the jaw that dropped Brock in a heap and ended the bout.

Klitschko, who also held the World Boxing organization heavyweight title from 2000 to 2003, weighed in at 241 pounds. Brock tipped the scales at 224.

The champion said he was eager to consolidate the heavyweight division, which has four title holders including WBC champion Oleg Maskaev, WBA title holder Nikolai Valuev, and American Shannon Briggs, the WBO champion.

“I will fight anybody with a title,” Klitschko said.

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