WBC Heavyweight World Title: Vitali Klitschko TKO10 Tomasz Adamek
This was pretty clearly a mismatch from the opening bell. It looked like a Heavyweight vs a Cruiserweight and that's pretty much how it panned out. From the opening bell Klitschko was relaxed and in control, feeling out his opponent before landing a heavy right after a couple of minutes. Adamek's knees buckled but he stayed on his feet, however any thought of an upset had already been put to bed.
The second round took a similar course to the first with another big right rocking Adamek and after that the fight settled down to a pattern of steady dominance. Adamek put in a bit of a burst in the fourth landing a number of punches to the body and head, but none of them made a noticeable impact. Instead Klitschko kept chipping away with solid shots that all took their toll.
As the fight entered the later rounds it started to get difficult to watch. Klitschko was regularly landing and facing very little coming back. Adamek took an eight-count in the sixth after only the ropes kept him up and there was no reason the fight should have gone on another four rounds. He was never going to stand a chance of winning and was taking a lot of punishment, and either his corner or the referee should have stopped the fight in the ninth at the latest. In the end it was waved off near the end of the tenth, by which time even Kitschko had eased off the pace, understanding that it was no longer a contest.
Light Welterweight: Paul McCloskey UD12 Breidis Prescott
This was a world title eliminator between two men who are best known amongst casual fight fans as opponents of Amir Khan. McCloskey is a man who fights behind a low guard, relying on reactions and counter-punching and was unlucky to lose to Khan with a cut eye. Prescott on the other hand is famous for winning his fight within a round in a manner that will forever have people questioning the Khan's chin, irrespective of what Maidana threw at him without a KO.
Since that fight however, Prescott has made the point that he has good boxing fundamentals as well as power, and the first half of this fight bore that out. He was on top early on, able to land the right regularly and hurt McCloskey more than once. He scored a knockdown in the first round but it seemed more a push and a clash of legs, then bust McCloskey's nose in the second and with the blood flowing it seemed everything was going for the Colombian. McCloskey was able to get into the fight for the first time in the fourth round, but was still struggling to impose himself and was a fair way down on the cards by halfway.
As the second half started the fight began to change around. Prescott started to slow down and with that McCloskey was able to go on the offensive. He upped his work rate and started to pursue Prescott around the ring, landing more often and taking less in return. With the increased success the home crowd became more vocal and this inspired him further. Prescott was able to fight in bursts, often at the beginning of the round, but he was unable to keep the pace up and McClosky would finish rounds stronger, which always counts on the judges scorecards.
As the final round began there was a feeling that it was still up for grabs and they both went for it. They each had decent spells but McCloskey was again able to keep going all the way to the final bell, and in the end won by either two or three rounds on all the cards. There were no great protests from the Prescott camp but they will be disappointed that after the fast start it looked like a stamina problem caught up with him. McCloskey on the other hand will take great heart after digging deep to earn himself a world title shot.
Commonwealth Super-Bantamweight Title: Carl Frampton TKO4 Mark Quon
This was meant to be a European Title fight but Frampton's opponent pulled out, and after a number of others turned down the fight eventually Quon stepped up. Unfortunately he was out of his depth and Frampton was a class apart from the beginning. Quon never seemed to be balanced when throwing punches, mostly doing so on the lunge, and so when any did land they were arm shots that lacked any power.
Frampton on the other hand was impressive in his speed and movement. Early in the fight he would step in, fire off a couple of punches, then retreat to distance, all before Quon could throw anything of substance. As the rounds went by he went through the gears and put together combinations that Quon had no answer for. It ended in the fourth when Frampton landed a big right that put Quon down, then shortly afterwards the ref stepped in to save him from further punishment. A decent workout for Frampton, but not a lot to be learnt against a game but limited opponent.
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