King Klitschko reigns, Cotto victorious
By Benny Henderson Jr. (December 13, 2004)  
Photo © HoganPhotos.com
The weather outside was as delightful as the bloodied ring inside was frightful; well, at least for the beatdown challenger it was.

Actually the weather was at its norm for this time of year, sporting a cold crisp December night in Vegas, but the temperature in the Mandalay Bay event center proved to be much hotter with the WBC heavyweight championship title on the line and two warriors of the ring battling it out for the championship prize.

In one corner stood the 6'7½" towering Ukrainian defending his belt for the first time since strapping it on last April with a heavy mind on his home country along with his duty to protect his title in the process. In the other corner you have the recent Tyson conquering, overconfident Danny Williams. Would the boxing Brit pull off yet another upset this year and unravel the division; would lightning strike twice for Ole Danny boy? Not this time around.

It was evident from round one that the champion had the upper hand landing fifty-two shots to open a cut on Danny's right eye sending the challenger to the canvas with a big right hand and a hook with just thirty-seven seconds left in round one. Danny beat the count to survive the round but after absorbing power shots along with a massive onslaught of left hands and landing just a few body shots himself, he would taste the canvas once again in round three. But the bloodied and bruised Williams made it to his corner with his team pleading for him not to quit on them.

In round four Klitschko came out showing a bit of fatigue but landed a sweeping right hand rocking Williams who showed a defiant heart to continue to coming towards the champ before he was warned by referee Jay Nady for a low blow.

Round five and six were the same with Klitschko hands down dominating the bloodied and swollen Williams with repeated pop shots to the head that closed the right eye and was well on the way of shutting the left. This definitely wasn't an old, injured, faded Tyson who Williams was facing. This was a pissed-off, hard-hitting man on a mission fighting for democracy, his pride, his country, his belt and a chance to show the boxing world that regardless of what the naysayers might comment on or what other title holder may think he might posses, he is a force to be reckoned with.

After eight grueling rounds of being manhandled, dismantled and royally beaten Williams would find out first hand how much of a force Klitschko really was. After an uppercut and an old one-two by Klitschko, Williams was sent to the floor in the eight round for the fourth and final time in the bout, prompting referee Jay Nady to halt any more punishment.

The Vegas crowd went into an uproar while King Klitschko reveled in his dominant performance, improving his record to a whopping 35-2 (34). Williams, who drops to 32-4 (27), possessed courage and displayed heart in this one-sided event but was outclassed outwitted and, to put it in simple terms, just got the holy crap punched out of him.

Afterwards Williams stated that Klitschko was very awkward and was a lot harder to hit than he appeared to be before the fight, but didn't posses the power Tyson has. The reigning WBC champion Vitali Klitschko went on to thank all around him and expressed his thoughts on the debacle in his home country before going on to say that he would fight anybody in the division. All in all it was another outstanding outing for the elder Klitschko, showcasing his talents to the world and securing his spot at the top of the division.

The co-featured bout showcased unbeaten WBO junior welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto improving to 22-0 (18) in stopping fight veteran Randall Bailey, 28-5 (27), in the sixth round of their scheduled twelve round match-up. The young Puerto Rican outboxed, outclassed and out did the former champion, flooring Bailey twice in the bout and landing a series of power shots in the sixth round to stop the thirty year-old Bailey at 1:39 in the round. Cotto controlled the bout with fancy footwork and an onslaught of punishment to Bailey's body. Miguel looks ahead to take on the 140lb. division elite with his unrelenting style and heavy hands against with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Arturo Gatti, and Kostya Tszyu. But with the performance he portrayed against Bailey, they will have to be ready too.

Undercard:

Carlos Navarro, 26-3-1 (21), defeated Agapito Sanchez, 35-10-2 (18), by 11th round TKO for the WBC Continental Americas 130 lb. title.

Carlos Hernandez, 45-4-1 (24), defeated Juan Carlos Ramirez, 34-7 (14), by 10 round split decision.

ALSO SEE: 
Vitali Klitschko speaks: Hands Not Broken DHB
Klitschko smashes Williams in 8 one-sided rounds Anthony Cocks
Klitschko a 'Cut' Above the Rest Aaron Imholte

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