By Scott Christ –
Photo: Dennis Grombkowski –
Wladimir Klitschko once again had no trouble in the ring, as he powered through Francesco Pianeta in six rounds today in Germany.
It went as expected in Mannheim, Germany, as Wladimir Klitschko easily retained his WBA, IBF, and WBO world heavyweight titles against overmatched Francesco Pianeta, winning a sixth round stoppage after his third knockdown of the fight.
Klitschko (60-3, 51 KO) was clearly better than Pianeta (28-1-1, 15 KO) from the get-go, handling the first three rounds as he always does, looking mainly to use his jab, or his poking, extended left hand, to set up a right hand bomb. He first knocked Pianeta down in the fourth round on a right, then again in the fifth on a left hook, and he finished the Italian late in the sixth round, beating Pianeta down to the canvas.
Pianeta did get to his feet, but referee Ernie Sharif rightly called a halt to the bout, which had become, as usual, completely uncompetitive in Klitschko’s favor.
From here, Wladimir will likely move on to a September bout with Alexander Povetkin, possibly in Ukraine. Vladimir Hryunov’s $23 million purse bid makes that fight seem probable, if indeed he can put down that sort of money. And if not, Klitschko’s K2 Promotions came in second on the bid, meaning they’d have the rights to it.