Date: 11th November 2006
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, USA
Title: IBF & IBO World Heavyweight Titles
Promoter: K2 Promotions
Tv: HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko
(
46
-
3
-
0
)
Weight: 2-4-1 lbs
Calvin Brock
(
29
-
0
-
0
)
Weight: 224½ lbs
On November 11, 2006, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his titles against the previously unbeaten American challenger Calvin Brock. Klitschko, weighing 241 pounds, stopped Brock, who weighed 224 pounds, via technical knockout at 2:10 of the seventh round in their scheduled 12-round contest.
The champion, known as "Dr. Steelhammer," used his height and reach advantages to control the fight, particularly with his potent left jab. Despite Brock's early success, Klitschko began to assert his dominance in the fifth round, landing a series of powerful jabs that visibly affected the challenger.
An accidental headbutt in the sixth round opened a cut above Klitschko's left eye, but this only seemed to spur the Ukrainian on. In the seventh, Klitschko connected with a strong jab followed by a devastating right hand that sent Brock crashing to the canvas. Although Brock beat the count, he was clearly on unsteady legs, prompting referee Wayne Kelly to halt the bout.
The scorecards at the time of the stoppage all favoured Klitschko, with judges Luis Rivera (59-56), Peter Trematerra (59-55), and Don Ackerman (59-55) all having the champion ahead.
CompuBox statistics showed Klitschko's superiority: he landed 90 of 305 total punches (30%) and 62 of 218 jabs (28%). In comparison, Brock connected with 77 of 280 punches (28%) and only 26 of 158 jabs (16%).
With this impressive victory, Klitschko improved his record to 47-3 with 42 KOs and solidified his position as one of the world's top heavyweights. Brock's loss was his first, falling to 29-1 with 22 KOs.