Atlantic City, N.J. – Wladimir Klitschko proved he can last 12 rounds. But just barely.
Klitschko, who fell out of the heavyweight picture after a pair of upset losses in 2003 and 2004, survived being knocked down three times by Samuel Peter on Saturday night en route to a unanimous 12-round decision in an IBF elimination bout.
“It’s wonderful to be back (in contention for a title),” he said. “Hopefully, I’ve convinced some of the critics that I have the stamina to go 12 rounds.”
He went 12 rounds, all right, but not the way he wanted.
Dominating early with his size, quickness and experience, Klitschko – the 29-year-old brother of WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko – had his hands full with the favored Peter.
Peter, a muscle-bound 25-year-old Nigerian with knockout power but very little finesse, couldn’t keep the 6-foot-6 Ukrainian down. Peter resorted to hitting him in the back of the head during clinches, knocking him down with one such punch in the fifth.
Klitschko (45-3) went down a second time later in the round, but he hung on and began to take advantage of the tiring Peter.
Peter nearly ended it in the 10th, though, connecting on an overhand right that staggered Klitschko. He chased him into the corner and unloaded about a dozen more punches, but none were big ones.
Klitschko escaped, but his legs were rubbery and as he retreated, Peter caught him again with a right to the face and Klitschko went down for the third time in the match.
Still, Peter (24-1) couldn’t put him away. Klitschko dominated the last two rounds, scoring at will with left-right combinations.
All three judges scored it 114-111 for Klitschko, who is now the mandatory challenger to IBF champion Chris Byrd.
Rallying from an early knockdown, junior welterweight Miguel Cotto (25-0) stopped Ricardo Torres (28-1) on the undercard fight and won Torres’ WBO 140-pound title.
BASKETBALL
Nowitzki propels Germany into
European Championship title game
Dirk Nowitzki’s basket with 3.9 seconds lifted Germany into the final of the European Championship with a 74-73 win over Spain in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro.
Germany will face Greece, which rallied to beat France 67-66 on a 3-pointer by Dimitrios Diamantidis. The win sends Greece into its first tournament final since 1989.
Greece won its only European title at home in 1987, while Germany was the 1993 champion.
“Tomorrow will be the most important game in my life,” said Nowitzki, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
Nowitzki finished with 27 points and seven rebounds, going 5-for-10 from 3-point range. No other German scored in double figures.
Juan Carlos Navarro, who scored Spain’s last 10 points, also finished with 27.
Tony Parker, point guard for the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, hit a 3-pointer to put France up 58-51 with 1:12 left. But he also missed two free throws with 38 seconds left, then turned the ball over with a bad pass.
Earlier, Slovenia qualified for the World Championship for the first time when it beat Croatia 89-80 in a consolation match.
FOOTNOTES
Steelers running back Staley
expected to play against Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Duce Staley has been upgraded from questionable to probable after practicing all week, and is expected to play today against the visiting New England Patriots.
Staley has not played since the Steelers’ 41-27 loss to New England in the AFC championship game in January. He practiced only the first day of training camp before needing knee surgery Aug. 8, and practiced little until last week.
Staley will back up Willie Parker, a third-team running back a year ago who is second in the NFL in rushing with 272 yards in two games.
The Texans will not have to resort to a plan that would have had them spending the week in Cincinnati after Houston was spared a direct hit by Hurricane Rita.
The Texans will take Monday off because of gas and transportation problems in the area and resume practice on Tuesday, the team announced.
Germany’s Regina Schleicher won cycling’s road race at the world championships in Madrid, Spain, edging Britain’s Nicole Cooke by a length.
