If you want to see the results of the fight, keep reading.
If you are watching the fight tonight on Showtime, stop reading! Warning, spoilers ahead!!! (This is assuming you got here from a search engine and you can read the first few lines of this article)
Vitali Klitschko re-entered the arena of the heavyweight division's elite by defeating Sam Peter, who didn't answer the bell for the 9th round.
Klitschko showed little if any "ring rust" while Peter showed little if any defense or strategy that could have helped him have a chance against the much taller ex-champ. Klitschko may have won all eight rounds before the stoppage, and Peter's face showed the effects of Vitali's punches. The scores were announced after the 4th and 8th round; the judges all gave Klitschko the first four rounds, and two of the three gave him the next four as well.
The win will likely propel Vitali to fourth place in next month's SportsRatings Top 100, barely ahead of #5 Alex Povetkin, who faces Vitali's brother and heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in December. Sam Peter falls from #3 to #7 just behind Juan C. Gomez, who moved up to #6 this month after defeating former #8 Vladimir Virchis in October.
Here's a look at how the top ten stood for this month, before the fight:
| last mo. | Rank | Fighter | Rating |
Rated Record | Recent Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | WLAD KLITSCHKO | 60.17 |
35-3-0 |
|
| 2 | 2 | RUSLAN CHAGAEV | 46.09 |
10-0-0 |
|
| 3 | 3 | SAMUEL PETER | 38.07 |
16-1-0 |
|
| 4 | 4 | NICOLAY VALUEV | 37.89 |
21-1-0 |
|
| 5 | 5 | ALEX POVETKIN | 33.33 |
11-0-0 |
|
| 9 | 6 | JUAN C GOMEZ | 28.06 |
9-1-0 |
Won UD #8 VLADIMIR VIRCHIS |
| 6 | 7 | CHRIS ARREOLA | 26.06 |
10-0-0 |
|
| 7 | 8 | DAVID TUA | 25.36 |
28-3-1 |
inactive 13 months. |
| 10 | 9 | JOE MESI | 21.47 |
15-0-0 |
|
| 11 | 10 | HASIM RAHMAN | 21.39 |
17-6-2 |
Note that Vitali Klitschko had recently dropped out of the top ten due to inactivity. Here is a look at what the top ten may look like next month:
old num Fighter record rating
1 1. WLAD KLITSCHKO (35- 3- 0) 60.17
2 2. RUSLAN CHAGAEV (10- 0- 0) 46.09
4 3. NICOLAY VALUEV (21- 1- 0) 37.89
11 4. VITALI KLITSCHKO (21- 2- 0) 33.46 W9 #3 SAMUEL PETER
5 5. ALEX POVETKIN (11- 0- 0) 33.33
6 6. JUAN C GOMEZ ( 9- 1- 0) 28.06
3 7. SAMUEL PETER (16- 2- 0) 26.92 L9 #11 VITALI KLITSCHKO
7 8. CHRIS ARREOLA (10- 0- 0) 26.06
8 9. DAVID TUA (28- 3- 1) 25.09 inactive 14 months.
9 10. JOE MESI (15- 0- 0) 21.47
The win by Vitali Klitschko may end the dream of a unified belt for now. Vitali captures the WBC belt, while his brother holds the IBF and WBO belt. Until Vitali retires—and his plans at this time are unknown—the belts will likely remain with he and his brother, barring a major upset. The two have said they won't fight each other.
As for the SportsRatings belt, Vitali has a long way to go if he wants to wrest it from his brother without fighting him. Unless Wladimir loses to Alex Povetkin, Vitali could defeat both #2 Ruslan Chagaev and #3 Nicolay Valuev and still not pass Wladimir for the top spot. In general, to rank ahead of the man you have to beat the man...
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