Klitschko Stops Austin in Two

Most people thought Ray Austin (24-4-4) had no business being in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko (48-3). Most people were right.

Klitschko fought a conservative first round before finally unloading four consecutive left hooks in the second round and the fight was over. Austin, Klitschko's mandatory challenger (what a joke!), went down face first and was still trying to get to his feet as referee Eddie Cotton reached the count of ten. The 16,000 fans in attendance in Mannheim, Germany got the result they wanted but were still disappointed that they didn't get to witness a competitive bout.

Klitschko is the best heavyweight in the world today but mandatory defenses like this are pointless. His next bout should be against another beltholder -- either Shannon Briggs, Oleg Maskaev or Nicolay Valuev. If boxing politics prevent Klitschko from securing a unification bout, then he should aim for a rematch with either Lamon Brewster or Corrie Sanders to try and avenge one of his KO losses. Ross Puritty handed Klitschko his only other professional defeat but Puritty, now 40, hasn't won a fight in over three years so it would be hard to justify him as a title challenger ... yes, even harder than it was to justify Ray Austin as a title challenger.