BOXING

• Vitali Klitschko reclaims WBC heavyweight title from Peter

  
  

  Berlin, Germany (Sports Network) - Vitali Klitschko scored a decisive eighth- round TKO over Sam "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter to reclaim the WBC heavyweight title on Saturday at the O2 World Arena.

  Klitschko (36-2, 34 KOs) was named mandatory challenger because he was the WBC champion in 2004 before leaving boxing due to a number of injuries. The 37-year-old Ukranian national's last fight was an eighth-round TKO of Danny Williams in December 2004.

  The 28-year-old Peter (30-2, 23 KOs) was making the mandatory defense after scoring a sixth-round technical knockout of Oleg Maskaev on March 8.

  The six-foot-seven elder Klitschko used the advantage of reach against the six-foot Nigerian, battering and frustrating Peter to the point where the title-defender quit in the eighth round.

  This was the second fight for Peter against a Klitschko. Vitali's younger brother, IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko, defeated Peter in a 12-round unanimous decision in September 2005 to mark his only previous loss.

  The Klitschko brothers are both now holders of heavyweight titles.

  10/11 19:05:14 ET