Valuev Maintains WBA Title Belt

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.

Valuev will next face a mandatory challenge against Ruslan Chagaev, but there is no doubt who he and his camp really want to fight - IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko.

"This was a great night for Nikolai Valuev, don't let anybody take it away from him," Valuev promoter Don King said. "The phantom punch, the knee-busting punch - he will knock Klitschko out and unify the titles."

Hatton Regains Title; Eyes Jose Luis Castillo Next

LAS VEGAS - Ricky Hatton did what he had to do in his first working visit to this boxing mecca. He'll need to do a lot more when he returns in a few months with a much more willing opponent.

Hatton regained his 140-pound title Saturday night, much to the delight of several thousand of his countrymen who had traveled from Britain to watch his Las Vegas debut. But the win had as much to do with the passive nature of his opponent as it did with anything Hatton himself did.

That figures to change June 2, assuming current plans prevail. That's when Hatton will defend his title here against former lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo in his most important fight since beating Kostya Tszyu.

Unlike Juan Urango, who served as Hatton's foil in his latest fight, Castillo will be in the fight to win.

"There won't be a lot of dancing going on," Hatton said.

There wasn't much dancing going on in Hatton's unanimous decision against Urango. But there wasn't a whole lot of fighting either in a bout that thrilled only the most ardent of the British fans who came over to follow their hero.

Hatton did what he needed to win, fighting a conservative fight that consisted of landing right hand leads and then tying up his opponent. But if he wanted to make a big splash in his Las Vegas debut, he failed.

"The first six rounds felt too comfortable, maybe I took my foot off the gas," Hatton said.

Still, Hatton regained the title he vacated to move up to welterweight for his last fight by winning 11 of the 12 rounds on each of the judges' scorecards against the previously undefeated Colombian.

Castillo did his part to set up the June fight, but barely.

Fighting for the first time in nearly a year he escaped with a split decision win over Hermann Ngoudjo in the fight that topped the undercard at the Paris hotel-casino.