Vitali Klitschko distorts the features of Chris Arreola with a left uppercut during Saturday's heavyweight title fight in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)

Vitali Klitschko made a triumphant return to Los Angeles, pounding out a late stoppage win over previously unbeaten Chris Arreola to retain his World Boxing Council heavyweight title Saturday.

Klitschko was winning easily when referee Jon Schorle stopped the fight after the 10th round at Staples Center, a stanza in which Arreola took a beating.

"He was taking too much punishment," said trainer Henry Ramirez. "When I told him I was going to stop the fight, he was irate."

Two judges had the defending champion losing just one round, while the other judge saw him pitching a shutout.

Klitschko (38-2, 37 knockouts) has now won all three bouts by stoppage since returning to the ring from retirement late last year.

The six-foot-eight champion simply had too many weapons and too much reach for the hard-charging Arreola, who hails from nearby Riverside, Calif.

"I know I was hurting him a lot but he has a great, great chin," said Klitschko. "I was surprised he did not come out" for another round.

While the bout between the 250-pounders lacked the fireworks many expected, it was suspenseful until about the seventh round, when the outcome became academic.

Arreola (27-1, 24 knockouts) certainly didn't shame himself, pressing the action throughout. He was never close to getting knocked down, but ended the fight with puffy eyes and an abrasion on his forehead.

Too much backpedalling

But the only round he appeared to win was the fourth, when Klitschko spent too much time backpedalling. Too often, Arreola resembled a new version of David Tua, the hard-hitting New Zealand heavyweight from the 1990s who couldn't let his hands do enough in his biggest bouts.

Klitschko was able to use his 81-inch reach to fend off the challenger, spearing Arreola with jabs and left hooks to take the first three rounds easily.

The Ukrainian-born titleist began to clinch more in the fifth, with Arreola taking advantage to pound to the midsection.

If the 38-year-old Klitschko was indeed tired, he got his second wind in a hurry, dominating the rest of the bout.

He had fought at Staples over six years ago, earning respect in the boxing community despite a loss to then-champion Lennox Lewis of Kitchener, Ont. Klitschko vehemently protested the stoppage loss to Lewis despite unsightly gashes over his left eye.

Klitschko's younger brother, Wladimir, holds the International Boxing Federation title. The brothers have said they will never fight each other.

Since returning to the ring one year ago, Vitali had pounded out one-sided stoppage wins over Samuel Peter and Juan Carlos Gomez.

Arreola, 28, was aiming to become the first heavyweight titleist of Mexican-American descent.

He was emotional in his post-fight interview, apologizing to the crowd, which had tried to spur him on.

"I'm so sorry, I really wanted to be champion," Arreola said. "I never wanted to quit."

With files from The Associated Press