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January 2009 - Title Tournament Fights (cont.)
Light-Heavyweight: #2 Gabriel Campillo (11-0, 4 KO) vs #3 Tomasz Adamek (11-2, 8 KO)
Adamek drops Campillo 25 seconds into the fight, but Campillo rises and recovers well. His movement proves to give Adamek trouble until the 7th, when Adamek puts Campillo down again, this time for good. Adamek by KO at 2:09 of round 7. Cards were 57-57 through six.
Heavyweight: #1 Vitali Klitschko (14-0-1, 13 KO) vs #4John L. Sullivan (15-3, 14 KO)
An all-out war here as these two are throwing heavy, heavy leather. Klitschko keeps Sullivan at bay in the first but Sullivan penetrates in the second and from there it's a crowd-pleaser. When one fighter seems to be building momentum, the other lands a hard shot to take it back. A raucous fifth round sees Sullivan in control, as Klitschko's right eye is swelling by the second. But Klitschko shows great heart and comes back to punish Sullivan in the next two rounds. By the end of round 7, Sullivan's own right eye becomes a concern, and the fight takes a turn. Sullivan is cautioned multiple times in the 8th - for butting, leaning on Klitschko's neck to bring him down to size, and hitting on the break. Sullivan wins the round as Klitschko's seems shocked at the sudden change in tactics. They keep up for the next two rounds, and while Klitschko hangs in, Sullivan is getting the better of the action in addition to his fouling. When the 11th begins, both men's faces are swollen messes. In a clinch, both men wrestle aggresively for position, when Sullivan holds Klitschko down by the neck for a third time and blasts him in the process. Referee Sean Curtin rules the foul is a flagrant one, and Sullivan is disqualified. The Boston Strongman is incredulous, and there's debate whether he has reason. While he was warned several times, there was never a point taken away, which makes the DQ decision surprising and, to him, unfair. But regardless, Sullivan - who was up on two cards and even on the third - loses his chance at the belt for now. Klitschko wins by DQ in round 11.
Welterweight: #2 Vernon Forrest (16-2, 11 KO) vs #3 Andre Berto (9-0-1, 8 KO)
It's vintage Forrest to start, and he's all over Berto, landing accurately and moving well. Forrest dominates rounds 1 and 2 before dropping Berto twice in the third. To Berto's credit though, he recovers and in rounds 4 and 5 he seems to get the better of Forrest. He's in control in the 6th as well when Forrest lands a perfect combination that puts Berto down for the count. Forrest wins by knockout at 2:50 of the 6th.
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