Klitschko, 38, used all his advantages to pummel a game Leapai into submission to retain his WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight belts with a destructive performance in front of a baying German crowd.
The tactics employed by Leapai were all wrong from the off as the Samoan-born contender attempted to bypass Klitschko’s awesome jab to get off with his own shots inside. This proved unfruitful for ‘Lionheart’ as the Ukrainian picked him off on his way in and there seemed to be no Plan B to fall back on.
Despite his slight weight advantage, the six-inch shorter Leapai was down as early as the first round, and from then on the writing was on the wall despite a brave attempt at inflicting a first defeat on Klitschko in over ten years.
To his credit, most fighter’s would have succumbed to the punishment dished out by the world’s premiere heavyweight within three rounds, but Leapai kept on coming and even got up from a crushing fifth round knockdown which would have ended most pretenders to Klitschko’s crown.
Referee Eddie Cotton waved off the fight once Leapai went down a second time in the fifth as Klitschko’s jab and straight right combination commanded the contest to register a 52nd knockout win for ‘Dr. Steelhammer.’
Both men were respectful of each other at the end of the encounter, with Klitschko now moving on to a potential unification fight against either Bermane Stiverne or Chris Arreola – who meet on May 10 for the vacant WBC title.
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