Wladimir Klitschko stopped Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA , IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night .
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wladimir klitschko stop tony thompson sixth round comfortable hold his wba ibf wbo heavyweight title saturday night
Wladimir Klitschko <m> stopped </m> Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA , IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night .
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Wladimir Klitschko retains belts
Updated : July 7 , 2012 , 10 : 04 PM ET
Wladimir Klitschko <m> stopped </m> Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA , IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night .
The 36 - year - old champion Klitschko , 58 - 3 with 51 knockouts , floored Thompson with a big right hand near the end of the fifth round at Stade de Suisse , and the 40 - year - old American never recovered .
The Ukrainian champion dropped Thompson again in the sixth , and referee Sam Williams gave the challenger a standing count before stopping the fight at 2 : 56 .
"Thompson was not so easy to box .
I'm satisfied , " Klitschko said .
In 2008 , Klitschko stopped Thompson in the 11th round .
Thompson , the mandatory challenger nominated by the IBF , fell to 36 - 3 ( 24 KOs ) .
After the fight , Klitschko led the crowd of 22 , 000 in signing "Happy Birthday" to trainer Emanuel Steward , who turned 68 on Saturday .
"Tony Thompson is very hard to hit , " Steward said .
"Tony was watching Wladimir's right hand all night . "
A cagey opening round was followed by a scrappy second , as Klitschko twice wrestled Thompson to the floor .
Thompson briefly stepped up his cautious tactics when landing a left to Klitschko's face in the third .
Klitschko finally landed a long , straight right in the fifth , and the round ended with Thompson struggling on the ropes .
The champion cornered Thompson toward the end of the sixth , and landed punches to the head though no single blow appeared to cause serious damage .
"I got caught but I'm OK , " Thompson said in the ring .
"He's strong and he's world heavyweight champion for a reason . "
Klitschko extended the domination of the heavyweight ranks he shares with his older brother , Vitali .
Vitali was in his brother's corner as usual , and acted as cheerleader in the third round , urging on fans in the soccer stadium when the first chants of "Klitschko ! Klistchko ! stirred .
The elder Klitschko will defend his WBC title against Manuel Charr of Germany in Moscow on Sept . 8 .