ATLANTIC CITY (New Jersey), June 8: Unbeaten American Kelly Pavlik emphatically stopped Welshman Gary Lockett in the third round on Saturday to retain his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight titles.

Referee Eddie Cotton called a halt to the bout at the request of the battered Lockett’s corner at 1:40 of the third, after Pavlik had put the challenger down three times.

Pavlik improved to 34-0 with 30 wins inside the distance. Lockett fell to 30-2 with 21 knockouts.

Pavlik knocked down Lockett twice in the second round, which ended with the Welshman’s face bloodied.

When he sent him to the canvas again in the third, Lockett watched as his corner threw in the towel to bring the bout to a halt.

Pavlik overcame a second-round knockdown against Jermain Taylor on September 29 to score a stunning seventh-round stoppage.

Five months later, the 26-year-old backed up that triumph with a unanimous decision in a non-title rematch five months later.

Lockett wasn’t in the same class as Pavlik. He was rattled by a hard right to the head with 1:20 left in the opening round. Midway through the second, the challenger went to one knee after sustaining a pair of rights to the head.

Another punishing right sent him down again with 17 seconds left in the round.—AFP