Boxing: Klitschko retains WBC belt, stops Gomez in ninth
STUTTGART, Germany — Vitali Klitschko has retained the WBC heavyweight title by stopping Juan Carlos Gomez in the ninth round tonight.
The 37-year-old Klitschko twice put down the Germany-based Cuban defector, in the seventh and ninth, before the referee Daniel Van de Wiele stopped the fight with 1 minute, 11 seconds remaining in the round.
Klitschko improved his career record to 37-2 (36 KOs), his last loss coming to Lennox Lewis in June 2003.
The Ukrainian was making the first defense of the WBC title he reclaimed by stopping Samuel Peter last October, which followed a four-year retirement largely because of injuries.
The 35-year-old Gomez was the mandatory challenger and a former sparring partner of Klitschko, and was seeking to become the first world heavyweight champion from Cuba.
