April 26th, 2014. In Oberhausen, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko put his RING, IBF, WBO and WBA titles on the line against Samoan-born Alex Leapai. Those titles never appeared to be in any danger of changing hands, however, as the heavily overmatched Leapai was dominated throughout and knocked down three times.
In just the 1st round, Leapai looked completely outclassed, also hitting the canvas. The Samoan protested the referee’s ruling of a knockdown, claiming it was a slip; nonetheless, the round belonged to Klitschko, as did the next four that followed.
Leapai was never really able to assert himself in any shape or form. He was unable to slip Klitschko’s jab, close the distance, and generally land any kind of significant punches on the champion. In fact, you could count the total number of Leapai’s clean landing shots on both hands. To count Klitschko’s, you’d need several families – toes included.
Leapai fell south to the canvas another two times in the 5th. Following the second time, the referee finally stopped the mismatch from becoming any more dangerous. The end came at the 2:05 mark, where the scorecards were matched at 40-35.
Klitschko clocks up his 16th title defense – yes, this limp challenge does still count – and extends his 19-year fight record to 62 wins and 3 losses, with 52 knockouts. Leapai’s now falls to 30 wins, 5 losses, 3 draws, with 24 knockouts.
So where does Klitschko go from here? In all honesty, most fans – at least those outside of Eastern Europe – won’t really care too much provided his next opponent can bring even a moderate challenge to the table. If the talk is true of Kubrat Pulev being optioned as a next opponent, the unbeaten Bulgarian should at least be capable of this. Klitschko vs Pulev, anyone?
Earlier undercard action saw Omar Figueroa capture the WBC Lightweight title from Jerry Belmontes. Ringside judges favored Figueroa by Split Decision, scoring the contest 116-112, 118-110, 113-115. Following the win, Figueroa remains unbeaten with 23 wins, 17 knockouts, and 1 draw, while Belmontes falls to 19 wins, 5 knockouts, and 5 losses.
Any thoughts rattling around in your boxing brain about Klitschko vs Leapai? Let it all out in the comments below!
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