Unbeaten Deontay Wilder stopped Johann Duhaupas in the eleventh round to retain his WBC heavyweight title on Saturday night.
In front of his home state fans in Birmingham, Alabama, the American battered the French challenger, displaying fierce power as he took his record to 35-0, including 34 wins inside the distance.
It was the dominant performance expected against a 34-year-old journeyman who was fighting in the United States for the first time, and in his first “world” title bid.
But Duhaupas showed why he had never before been stopped as he absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment.
Duhaupas was still on his feet, his face bloodied and bruised, when referee Jack Reiss called a halt 55 seconds into the penultimate round as Wilder let go with yet another barrage.
Duhaupas showed no sign he was intimidated by the US knockout artist, moving forward from the opening bell.
But Wilder landed the harder shots, cutting the challenger on the bridge of the nose in the first round and putting him in serious jeopardy in the third with a series of brutal combinations.
In the fifth, Wilder, untroubled by significant swelling under his left eye, connected with a series of damaging uppercuts. He continued to dish out the punishment, even after Duhaupas appeared to enjoy a second wind in the eighth.
"He's got a hell of a chin," said Wilder, who had been past the eighth round only twice before.
He beat Bermane Stiverne on points over twelve rounds in January to become the first American since 2006 to hold one of the heavyweight belts. In his first title defence, in June, he stopped Eric Molina in the ninth.
Wilder took a swipe at those who criticized the bout as a mismatch. "Without his toughness and ability to keep coming, I wouldn't be able to display what I have," Wilder said of the Frenchman, whose record fell to 32-3.
For the American, the fight, televised live on NBC in the first broadcast of a heavyweight title bout by a leading US network since 1985, was a step on what he hopes is a path to the undisputed heavyweight title.
That goal will likely require a clash with Wladimir Klitschko, whose October 24 title defence against Britain's Tyson Fury has been postponed because of a calf injury that Ukraine's long-reigning world champion suffered last week.
On the undercard, Dominic Breazeale remained undefeated when he beat Fred Kassi on points over ten rounds in a heavyweight bout. The scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 took the former Olympian’s record to 16-0, with 14 knockouts. Kassi dropped to 18-4-1, with ten wins inside the distance.
Charles Martin moved to 22-0-1, including 20 knockouts, when he stopped Vicente Sandez in the third round of a heavyweight preliminary. Sandez now stands at 15-5; 10.
CHISORA AND ADAMEK WIN
In a heavyweight bout in London, Dereck Chisora beat Marcelo Nascimento on points over ten rounds. The former title challenger improved his record to 22-5, including 14 knockouts. Nascimento lost for the ninth time in eleven fights and his record fell to 18-11; 16.
Fedor Chudinov, the WBA’s “regular” middleweight champion, beat Frank Buglioni on points over twelve rounds to take his record to 14-0, including ten knockouts. The scores were 120-106, 118-0108 and 117-109.
Buglioni’s record fell to 17-2, with a draw and 13 shortcut victories.
In Lodz, Poland, heavyweight Thomasz Adamek recorded his 50th professional victory when he beat Przemyslaw Saleta, who did not come out for the sixth round.
Adamek, a former light-heavyweight champion, won inside the distance for the 30th time as he improved his record to 50-4. Saletya, 47, dropped to 44-8; 22.
Earlier, heavyweight Nagy Aguilera stopped Marcin Rekowski in the tenth round to improve to 20-9; 14. Rekowski now stands at 16-2, with 13 knockouts.
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