ROUND 1, continued
The crowd of 60,000 is stunned into silence for a second, then begins roaring as referee Eddie Cotton moves in, pushes an equally stunned Vitali back to his corner and begins counting:
1 ... (Wladimir's eyes open, as if from a nap, and he instinctively begins trying to get to his feet)
2 ...
3 ...
4 ...
Wladimir is up, but barely able to keep his feet. He leans back into the ropes for balance as Cotton asks him if he's OK. He blinks several times and nods. Cottons asks if he knows where he is, and he says, "Germany." Cotton shrugs as if to say, "Good enough" and waves the fighters together.
Vitali, apparently over his initial concern, wades in punching, hooking off a jab to the body, causing Wladimir to stagger to his left. Vitali follows along the ropes, but the bell rings before he can do any further damage.