OAKLAND, Calif. -- Andre Ward knocked down Chad Dawson three times en route to an impressive tenth round TKO to defend his WBC-WBA super middleweight titles Saturday night before his hometown crowd on the HBO Boxing main event.
Ward (26-0, 14 KOs) knocked down Dawson (31-2, 17 KOs) late in the third round, early in the fourth, and finished him off with a combination at 2:45 of the 10th. Ward was in control nearly the entire bout.
In the HBO co-feature, WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco needed but 44 seconds to shock mandatory challenger John Molina. DeMarco stunned Molina with the first solid punch he landed and Molina never fully recovered. Molina retreated to the ropes and took a series of unanswered punches before the referee intervened.
A post-fight review of the stoppage showed that the referee may have called the bout off a bit prematurely. With Molina squatting on the bottom rope, he should’ve perhaps called a standing eight count, particularly in a world title bout.
Vitali Klitschko Slices Up Manuel Charr
Vitali Klitschko stopped Manuel Charr in the fourth round to retain his WBC world heavyweight title Saturday night in Moscow.
The 41-year-old Ukranian won via technical knockout when the bout was stopped by the doctor with 56 seconds left in the round due to excessive bleeding on Charr’s right eye suffered from a Klitschko punch.
Vitali notched the ninth consecutive successful title defense since defeating Samuel Peter in his comeback to the ring in 2008. He improved to 45-2 (41 KOs).
The 27-year-old Charr, a German born in Beirut, dropped to 21-1. He vehemently protested the doctor's decision to stop the fight.
Post-fight there was speculation that Klitschko will soon announce his retirement.
Adamek Gets Off Canvas To Destroy Walker
Tomasz Adamek recovered from a second-round knockdown, and defeated Travis Walker in the fifth round via referee stoppage on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Adamek improved to 47-2, 28 KOs, while Walker dropped to 39-8-1, 31 KOs.
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