BERLIN (AP) -Vitali Klitschko reclaimed the WBC belt and fulfilled a self-proclaimed dream to hold a heavyweight title at the same time as his brother, stopping Samuel Peter with a technical knockout Saturday night.
Peter chose not to come back out after eight rounds that saw him weaving and occasionally wobbling as Klitschko landed a persistent stream of heavy jabs to Peter's head in front of more than 12,000 people at the new O2 World Arena.
The 37-year-old Ukranian fighter (36-2, 35 KOs) used his height - he's 6-foot-7 - and reach to keep Peter crouched and defensive.
Wladimir Klitschko, widely considered the most talented among the chaotic field of so-called heavyweight champions, holds the IBF and WBO heavyweight belts - and dealt Peter his only previous loss, in September 2005 in a 12-round unanimous decision.
Peter, a 28-year-old Nigerian-born fighter, kept a tight defensive stance and managed to plant a series of solid body shots on his towering opponent. But after eight rounds he hadn't worked consistently inside Klitschko's massive reach.
Klitschko has been WBC ``champion emeritus'' since a knee injury forced to withdraw from a fight and retire from boxing in 2005.
The honorary status gave him the right to fight Peter (30-2), who won the interim belt in a fight against Jameel McCline last September, whenever Klitschko chose to come out of retirement.
Klitschko is a three-time champion who won the WBC title in 2004 with an eight-round victory over Corrie Sanders. The Peter fight was Klitschko's first since he defended the crown with an eighth-round win over Danny Williams in Las Vegas in 2004.
Klitschko's performances as a powerful puncher have often been overshadowed by injury. In 2005, he withdrew from a WBC title fight with Hasim Rahman because of a torn ligament in his right knee. The injury led him to announce his retirement, and the WBC made him ``champion emeritus.'' Last fall, he announced a comeback fight against Jameel McCline, only to back out after hurting his back and undergoing emergency surgery.
Promoter Don King said after the fight that a logical next step for Klitschko might be to seek a rematch with Lennox Lewis, whom Klitschko lost to in 2003 when a fight doctor called the bout because Klitschko had a badly cut eye.
``What a triumph that would be for us old guys,'' King said.
Lewis has been retired since 2004.
In an undercard fight, heavyweight Odlanier Solis improved to 12-0 and grabbed the WBC international heavyweight belt by beating American Chauncy Welliver (34-5-5, 13 KOs) in the ninth round. Belarussian Alexander Ustinov (13-0, 11 KOs) dealt a heavy-handed knockout to Detroit's Julius Long (15-10, 13 KOs) in the first round of another heavyweight matchup.
