Jan 21, 2007 4 min read

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) – Nikolai Valuev retained the WBA heavyweight title Saturday night when American challenger Jameel McCline collapsed in the third round after injuring his left knee. McCline missed a swing at the 7-foot Russian and fell to the canvas as he tore ligaments in his kneecap. He tried unsuccessfully to stand up several times.

“He was in terrible pain, literally screaming,” said Scott Hirsch, McCline’s manager. “He thought he was fighting well – what a crazy end to a fight.”

Billed as the biggest title fight in history by the promoters, the 6-foot-6 McCline tipped the scales at 268 pounds and the unbeaten Russian at 322 pounds.

“He is a big man and it’s very important for a 120-kilo (260-pound) man to keep his balance, but he couldn’t,” Valuev said.

McCline rocked the Russian with a hard left in the first round and they traded a lot of blows, although Valuev appeared to be gaining the upper hand.

“It’s terrible the way this ended, but it could have been worse,” Valuev said. “I got used to his style. If this injury hadn’t happened, I would have knocked him out by the sixth or seventh round.”

McCline, 38-7-3 with 23 knockouts, was carried out on a stretcher, than taken to the hospital. Beforehand, his corner propped him on a stool in the ring to say a few words.

“I’m disappointed. I will remember this my whole life,” McCline said.

The 36-year-old lost his third title bout. In 2002, he was stopped in the 10th round by Wladimir Klitscho in a WBO fight. Two years later, he floored Chris Byrd but lost a close decision in the IBF title shot.

The 33-year-old Valuev, 46-0 with 33 knockouts, made his third defense after winning the belt with a close decision against John Ruiz in December of 2005.

Valuev, facing his biggest opponent, wasn’t able to stand outside with his towering frame and jab him into submission this time.

The 9,000 spectators cheered for the underdog McCline – ranked just 14th – against the Russian giant. With the abrupt end, the cheers changed to loud jeers.

Witter successfully defends WBC belt

LONDON – Junior Witter successfully defended his WBC light welterweight title Saturday night, stopping Mexican challenger Arturo Morua in the ninth round.

Referee Tim Adams stopped the fight 2:12 into the ninth round.

“It was good enough,” Witter said. “I hurt him. The ref should have stopped it straightaway or let me finish him before the standing eight count – but I finished him off after that.”

Witter improved to 35-1-2 with his 19th knockout.

The switch-hitting Witter put Morua on the defensive in the fourth round with a series of right jabs that eventually led to a strong left hook.

With Morua sitting back to pick his punches, Witter attacked with right blows to the body and left shots to the head. A face shot in the fifth provided the first real threat to the 28-year-old Morua, who managed to stay on his feet.

Morua landed several right face shots in the sixth, but Witter came right back in the seventh, connecting with a left hook that saw Morua loose his footing, though it was ruled a slip afterward.

Morua sat back waiting for an opening that Witter never showed.

“It was a little bit slow for me. The timing was not quite right – I expected him to come in a bit and fight a little more Mexican style,” Witter said. “I thought I fought well all night, and he was a little bit hesitant, but I’m happy with the finish.”

Right-left combos from Witter sent Morua into his corner in the ninth, where Adams stopped the fight to deliver a standing eight-count after the Mexican fell into the ropes.

Witter immediately pounced on the Mexican to deliver another series of combos, finishing with a left uppercut that forced Adams to call the fight in front of a near-capacity crowd of 2,500 at Alexandra Palace.

It was the same venue where Witter won the title with an unanimous decision over American fighter DeMarcus Corley on Sept. 15.

“I’m a masterful boxer and I kept him from playing any mind games, so with a little power-hitting I knew he didn’t want to come forward anymore,” Witter said. “I knew I had to land some combinations because one shot was not enough to knock him out.”

Morua fell to 24-8-1.