Wlodarczyk snatches WBC title with KO of Fragomeni
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk took the vacant WBC cruiserweight title by stopping Giacobbe Fragomeni in the eighth round Sunday.
Wlodarczyk sent the 40-year-old Fragomeni to the canvas a second time in the round and the Italian quit.
The first knockdown came in the sixth from a right hook by 6-foot-9 Wlodarczyk to Fragomeni's left temple.
Their first title bout finished in a draw in May 2009 in Italy. Fragomeni lost the title last November by decision to Zsolt Erdei but the belt became available again.
Wlodarczyk, who held the IBF title briefly in 2006-07, improved to 43-2-1, while Fragomeni dropped to 26-2-1.
The first four rounds were slow, with Wlodarczyk hesitant and wary of close contact, frequently clinching the Italian.
But starting in the fifth, Wlodarczyk began placing powerful punches under Fragomeni's chin and to the body.
``I had a strange calm in me today,'' Wlodarczyk told the crowd at the Atlas Arena in Lodz. ``Giving the fight away at some point was not accidental. I have worked hard on the tactics.''