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Vitali Klitschko continued his dominance over the heavyweight division last night, winning a resounding 12 round decision over challenger Shannon Briggs at the 02 Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
The towering Ukrainian slugger controlled the action from the first round, working the right hand behind the jab to very good effect, taking the early rounds with an activity that belied his 38 years of age.
Klitschko began to work in more of his arsenal but Briggs also began to land some punches during the middle rounds, although he never put a dent in the champion.
The later frames saw Briggs absorb a one-sided thrashing but the seasoned former WBO champ showed a huge heart and granite jaw by taking everything Klitschko could dish out and soldiering on.
Briggs finished the 12 rounds on his feet, losing by wide margins of 120-105, 120-107 and 120-107 dropping to 51-6-1 (45), while Klitschko now stands at 41-2 (38).
On the undercard, ex-Interim WBO cruiser king Ola Afolabi returned from a WBO title bout loss to Maro Huck to post a wide points verdict over durable Sandro Siproshvili, 24-7 (11), and Russian heavyweight contender Alexander Ustinov, 22-0 (17), made short work of Oezcan Cetinkaya, 18-8-1 (12), stopping the Turk in two.
Former European light middle ruler Zaurbek Baysangurov, 24-1 (8), returned to the ring for the first time in almost a year to force a third round retirement against Eugenio Monteiro, 16-14 (8).
