NEW YORK — Wladimir Klitschko is one belt closer to being the undisputed heavyweight champion after an indisputably dominant victory.
Far too strong and much too long, Klitschko barely took a punch while winning a unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov on Saturday night, defending his IBF title and claiming Ibragimov's WBO belt in the first heavyweight unification fight in nearly nine years.
The 6-foot-7-inch Klitschko is at least a half-foot taller and 20 pounds heavier than Ibragimov, who constantly appeared to be flailing against a mean-spirited older brother.
With little more than an insistent jab, Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) slapped and herded Ibragimov around the ring in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd of 14,011.
Klitschko is hoping to become the heavyweight division's first unified-title holder since Lennox Lewis' retirement. He still has the WBA and WBC titles to chase.
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Brazilian rider Pagliarini wins stage 6 of Tour of California
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Luciano Pagliarini of Brazil won stage 6 because of a penalty to Mark Cavendish of Great Britain, and defending tour champion Levi Leipheimer maintained his 49-second race lead Saturday in the Amgen Tour of California.
Pagliarini (Saunier Duval) crossed the line second to Cavendish in the 105-mile Santa Barbara road race in 4 hours 18 minutes 31 seconds. But Cavendish (High Road) was penalized 20 seconds for riding into the slipstream of a vehicle in the final of three concluding circuits and with about 2 1/2 miles left.
He was relegated to 74th in the stage.
Pro football
Ex-Miami linebacker Thomas, Cowboys agree to 1-year deal
Linebacker Zach Thomas is headed home to Texas to play for the Dallas Cowboys.
Thomas, a college standout at Texas Tech who played 12 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, has reached an agreement on a one-year, $3 million deal with the Cowboys, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed Saturday night.
NASCAR
Busch wins truck race in Calif.
FONTANA, Calif. — Kyle Busch and his Toyota Tundra led for 51 of the 100 laps to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.
● Steady rain Saturday night forced the postponement of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race until today, following the Sprint Cup series race at Auto Club Speedway.
Pima College
Aztecs softball team wins two
Host Pima College swept a softball doubleheader with GateWay College on Saturday, winning the opener 2-1 and the second game 6-2. Pima improved to 13-0-1 overall, 6-0 in ACCAC play.
● Pima's baseball team split a pair of games with GateWay on Saturday at Pima, dropping the opener 7-4 but winning the nightcap 6-3. Pima is 10-4, 3-3 in the ACCAC.
● The PCC women's basketball team got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Courtney Payne and topped South Mountain Community College 78-53 in Phoenix.
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