Klitschko Stops Thompson in Sixth

Wladimir Klitschko stopped Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night.

The 36-year-old champion Klitschko, 58-3 with 51 knockouts, floored Thompson with a big right hand near the end of the fifth round at Stade de Suisse, and the 40-year-old American never recovered.

The Ukrainian champion dropped Thompson again in the sixth, and referee Sam Williams gave the challenger a standing count before stopping the fight at 2:56.

"Thompson was not so easy to box. I'm satisfied," Klitschko said.

In 2008, Klitschko stopped Thompson in the 11th round.

Thompson, the mandatory challenger nominated by the IBF, fell to 36-3 (24 KOs).

After the fight, Klitschko led the crowd of 22,000 in signing "Happy Birthday" to trainer Emanuel Steward, who turned 68 on Saturday.

"Tony Thompson is very hard to hit," Steward said. "Tony was watching Wladimir's right hand all night."

A cagey opening round was followed by a scrappy second, as Klitschko twice wrestled Thompson to the floor.

Thompson briefly stepped up his cautious tactics when landing a left to Klitschko's face in the third.

Klitschko finally landed a long, straight right in the fifth, and the round ended with Thompson struggling on the ropes.

The champion cornered Thompson toward the end of the sixth, and landed punches to the head though no single blow appeared to cause serious damage.

"I got caught but I'm OK," Thompson said in the ring. "He's strong and he's world heavyweight champion for a reason."

Klitschko extended the domination of the heavyweight ranks he shares with his older brother, Vitali.

Vitali was in his brother's corner as usual, and acted as cheerleader in the third round, urging on fans in the soccer stadium when the first chants of "Klitschko! Klistchko! stirred.

The elder Klitschko will defend his WBC title against Manuel Charr of Germany in Moscow on September 8.

Wladimir Auctions Atlanta Medal

Ukraine's world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko has raised $965,000 for charity by auctioning off his 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games gold medal before quickly gaining it back.

The fund for disaffected Ukrainian children, run by the 35-year-old defender of four titles and his older brother Vitali, said the Kiev event raised more than $1.45 million in total.

The medal Wladimir won against Tonga's Paea Wolfgramm in Atlanta was claimed by an unknown bidder before being returned.

"Immediately after the sale, the buyer's representative announced his wish to leave the Olympic medal in the Klitschko family," the brothers' charity foundation said in a statement.

Other items purchased at the auction included a wristwatch embedded with 412 diamonds that were shaped to look like the imprint of Vitali Klitschko's thumb.

The Klitschko family is one of the most celebrated in the ex-Soviet republic and has recently taken a more active role in opposition politics.

Vitali Klitschko heads the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR, meaning "punch" or "strike" in Ukrainian) party and has twice run for Kiev mayor.

The Klitschkos are fierce critics of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and support jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Wladimir Klitschko Defends Title

Wladimir Klitschko defended his world heavyweight title belts with a fourth-round knockout of Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in Germany.

Klitschko's 50th knockout was secured with ease as Mormeck failed to cope with the Ukrainian's power.

Mormeck first hit the floor in the second round after a Klitschko right.

Klitschko, who ended the fight with a right-left combination, said: "I'm delighted to get the 50th knock-out of my career. I promised and I delivered."

In the days leading up to the fight at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, 35-year-old Klitschko was forced to defend the quality of his opponents following criticisms that former cruiserweight world champion Mormeck would not provide a big enough challenge.

And Klitschko, who was defending his WBA, IBF and WBO belts, overpowered his challenger immediately, emphasising the mismatch in weight and experience.

Mormeck, 39, endured a one-sided first round that saw him trying to avoid and then contain the champion's lengthy jab, before he finally succumbed to a right-hander in the second that saw him momentarily floored.

Klitschko never looked in danger and, after a scrappy third round where Mormeck managed to hold his own, the fourth saw Klitschko dispatch his opponent with the devastating right-left combination.

Puerto Rican referee Luis Pabon counted out the challenger, who was making only his fourth appearance as a heavyweight, leaving Klitschko to celebrate a 57th career win.