Published: 20 July, 2008, 00:31
Edited: 20 July, 2008, 00:31
Russian boxer Aleksandr Povetkin has earned a shot at the heavyweight title after a 4th round knock-out of Taurus Sykes. Saturday night’s victory, in the city of Chekhov just outside Moscow, means he will take on the undisputed champion Wladimir Klitschko
It was a very close fight in the first round, but both men soon began to open up.
In the second round Povetkin began to take control, while Sykes, known as the American Bull, already showed signs of tiring, suffering the first knockdown towards the end of the round.
Sykes managed to continue, only to go to the floor again in the third. The referee ruled it was a slip, but Sykes was really struggling at this point and became an easy target for the Russian Knight.
Povetkin knocked Sykes down again at the beginning of the fourth, but this time the American was unable to get up.
Povetkin’s victory means he gets a shot at the IBF heavyweight title, while Sykes’ future remains uncertain as this bout became his fourth defeat out of his last five.