COLOGNE, Germany, October 15 – Wladimir Klitschko pounded out a one-side decision over Chris Byrd Saturday to claim the WBO heavyweight title, punishing the American while twice knocking him to the canvas.
The Ukrainian claimed almost every round, sending Byrd to the canvas with a left shot in the ninth round and then following up a straight stiff right and a barrage of punches to drop him again in the 11th.
Klitschko, ranked No. 3 by both the WBA and WBC, ran his record to 35-1 with 32 knockouts and went 12 rounds for the first time.
He also gained revenge for the loss of his older brother Vitali, whom Byrd beat for the title in April. The older brother, tearing a shoulder rotator cuff, quit in the 10th round instead of holding on to keep his title.
Afterwards, the older Klitschko was heaped with scorn for lacking heart.
“We’re not soft,” Wladimir Klitschko yelled at the crowd after beating Byrd. “I’m the world champion and I love my brother.”
Byrd got tagged hard in almost every round, and his right eye started swelling by the fourth and closed sometime during the fight. His left was only half open by the final bell.
The judges ruled it 120-106, 118-108 and 119-107 as Byrd’s record fell to 31-2.
After Byrd was dropped in the ninth – and was hopelessly behind on all the cards – he told his corner: “I don’t quit.”
The 2-meter (6-ft-7) Klitschko, the superheavyweight champion from the Atlanta Olympics, had a five-inch height advantage and outweighed Byrd by 12 kilos (25 pounds).
But Klitschko also proved quick and mobile enough to counter the speed of Byrd, a former Olympic silver medalist as a middleweight.
The American is known for his slippery unorthodox left-handed style and has made many boxers look bad, but the Ukrainian looked anything but bad or clumsy in the bout.
When Klitschko dropped him again in the 11th, Byrd’s father and trainer was ready to throw in the towel but was restrained by the fighter’s brother.
“Normally, I don’t have to take a lot of hard punches. I took a lot of hard punches today,” said the game Byrd.
After it became clear that Byrd could not lay back and counter against Klitschko, who proved too good of a boxer, the American came out and mixed it up starting in the seventh.
He may have won that round and suddenly seemed to give Klitschko some trouble, but when he was dropped in the ninth the fight was clearly over.
“He ought to fight (Lennox) Lewis, that would be good fight,” said Byrd.
Byrd weighed 96.8 kilos (213 pounds) and Klitschko 108 (238).
