Klitschko KO's Chambers In 12th Round

(Photo Credit: Jan Ovelgoenne)

Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KO's) won his 12th straight bout, scoring a late 12th round knockout over "Fast" Eddie Chambers (35-2, 18 KO's) to retain his IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles. Klitschko controlled much of the action for the entire fight by utilizing a powerful left jab that Chambers could not get past. Chambers struggled to get his punches off before Klitschko, and was forced to cover up most of the bout. Chambers was more active than some of Klitschko's previous opponents, but he was unable to sustain a consistent offensive attack to defeat the Ukranian giant. 

In the opening round, Chambers jabbed at Klitschko's body and used many angles. Then, Chambers tried to land right hands over Klitschko's jab, although he was unsuccessful. Klitschko started to push Chambers back with his stiff left jab. In round two, Chambers still tried to land overhand rights, but got rocked when Klitschko connected with a punishing straight right behind the jab. With Chambers momentarily wobbled, Klitschko landed a left hook - right hand combination to Chambers' head. Chambers' back was against the ropes, but he managed to finish the round on his feet.

Klitschko really started to get his punches off quicker in round three, which made Chambers fight incredibly defensive. Chambers became more focused on getting hit, as opposed to letting his punches fly. Chambers managed to land a left hook to the body, however, Klitschko controlled the round with the jab.

Similarly, Klitschko prohibited any offensive attack from Chambers in round four by forcefully striking him with his left jab. In round five, Klitschko sent Chambers into the ropes with a left hook - right hand combination. Chambers repeatedly used angles to get past Klitschko's jab in the sixth round, but the biggest problem for Chambers was his declining punch output. 

In round seven, Chambers did not get hit much, but he also did not land any meaningful punches. He jabbed at Klitschko a lot and used angles, but only got close one time. When Chambers got in range, he landed a short, left hook. Yet, Klitschko kept imposing his size and accurate jab on the challenger from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

At the end of round eight, Chambers showed extensive swelling under both eyes. Chambers' inefficient punch output did nothing to help him improve in the ninth round. After the ninth round, Chambers had his gloves re-taped, which gave him some time to recover from the beating Klitschko was giving him. When round ten began, Klitschko aggressively attacked him. 

Klitschko started round twelve at a furious pace, assaulting Chambers with vigorous rights to the body. Then, Klitschko sent Chambers into the ropes with a straight right. With ten seconds to go in the bout, Klitschko floored Chambers in the corner with a sharp, lunging left hook to the face. Chambers was out cold for approximately a minute. Eventually, Chambers received help from his corner and sat down on his stool.

Will anyone defeat Wladimir Klitschko again? Is there any formidable heavyweight challenger out there that poses a threat to his reign as champion? It seems very unlikely that Wladimir Klitschko will be defeated in the near future.