Vitali Klitschko defends WBC heavyweight title
Last Updated: Sunday, December 12, 2004 | 2:46 AM ET
CBC Sports
Klitschko retained his World Boxing Council heavyweight title, sending his opponent to the canvas for the fourth time of the night with a crushing overhand right hand.
A bleeding Williams rose at the count of nine, but referee Jay Nady waved a halt to the bout 86 seconds into Round 8 as Williams was hurt, his right eye completely shut.
Earlier in the round, Klitschko landed two uppercuts that stunned Williams.
Vitali Klitschko knocked out Danny Williams in the eighth round Saturday night to retain his WBC heavyweight title. (AP File Photo)
"He was very, very clever," said Williams of Klitschko, who improved to 35-2 with 34 knockouts. "I was unable to get my punches off against him."
Williams, the most recent conqueror of Mike Tyson, fell to 32-4.
The punch stat numbers saw Klitschko land 296 of 519 punches (47 per cent), while Williams connected on 44 of 193 punches (23 per cent).
Klitschko, who tipped the scales at 250 pounds before the bout, floored Williams with a steady barrage of punches in the first round.
Williams was repeatedly stunned in the first two rounds, but began to open up a bit in the third. Klitschko was very unorthodox, keeping his left hand down most of the bout, but Williams was unable to take advantage.
In the last seconds of the third round, the 270-pound Williams was hit with a left hook to the jaw and stumbled to the canvas.
Klitschko dominated the fourth round as well.
In the seventh, Williams lunged with a left hook and hurtled past Klitschko. The champion pushed him in the back of the head as he went by, and Nady ruled it a knockdown.
On the undercard, Carlos Alberto Hernandez improved to 41-4-1 with a split decision over Juan Carlos Ramirez (34-7). One judge had it 96-94 for Ramirez, while the others saw it 95-94 and 96-93 for Hernandez.
Also, Carlos Navarro (25-4-1) halted Agapito Sanchez (35-10-2) in the 11th in a one-sided affair.
Finally, standout junior welterweight contender Miguel Angel Cotto (22-0) made the first defence of his WBO title against Randall Bailey (28-5).
Cotto scored a sixth-round TKO to remain unbeaten and pick up his 18th knockout.
