Vitali Klitschko unanimously out-pointed Dereck Chisora for a 10th successive defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in a stormy clash in Munich late Saturday.
After being slapped by Briton Chisora at Friday’s weigh-in, Ukrainian Klitschko got revenge over his provocative challenger but he spent a lot of the fight on the back foot before earning scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 119-111 from the judges.
“He was very motivated. It was not easy but I saw every punch, he was slow. I am upset because I wanted to finish the fight before the 12th round,” said Klitschko.
The Briton said: “The only thing that beat me tonight was experience. I don’t hold back. I keep coming and I want a re-match.”
Despite the wide margin of the scores, Klitschko’s 40-year-old legs were made to work for every moment of the 12 rounds in a plucky effort from Chisora.
Klitschko won the title in 2004 but ‘retired’ later that year through injury only to resume his untroubled reign four years later.
Like all the other younger challengers who have stepped up to face the 6ft 7in Ukrainian, 6ft 1in Chisora fell short but he did give Klitschko some worrying moments.
Germany-based Klitschko im-proved his record to 44 wins, and two losses with his 41st stoppage while Zimbabwe-born Chisora, who moved to London aged 16, suffered his third defeat in his 18th fight.
It means all the world title belts remain in Klitschko hands, with Vitali’s younger brother Wladimir owning the other three.
Chisora, 28, had lost his previous fight – controversially on points to Finland’s Robert Helenius for the European title in December – but his aggressive start showed the Briton had bad intentions for Klitschko and was not intimidated, unlike a lot of Vitali’s previous challengers.
Chisora climbed through the ropes to a chorus of boos from 13,000 fans as Wladimir Klitschko asked for Chisora’s hand wraps to be re-applied.
The challenger initially objected. The row was eventually resolved and the fight delayed but Chisora’s outrageous antics were not over.
Chisora got in Vitali’s face as soon as the champion climbed through the ropes and then spat water in Wladimir’s face which may earn him another fine from boxing authorities.