Hernandez defends title with tenth-round KO

Berlin (AFP) - World cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez defended his IBF title with a tenth round knock-out against Russian mandatory challenger Alexander Alekseev in Bamberg, Germany.

Cuba's Hernandez was pushed hard, but ended up putting the Russian on the canvas for the third and final time after 1 mins 35 seconds of the tenth round in the early hours of Sunday.

Berlin-based Hernandez defended the title he won two years ago against America's Steve Cunningham for a third time.

A clean left as early as the second round caught Alekseev on the chin and left the Russian on the canvas, while the challenger had to dig deep to survive a fierce fifth round onslaught from Hernandez.

The Russian was again down at the end of the round when a sharp right after a combination caught him on the chin, but he survived referee Lindsey Page's count and rallied.

Hernandez was allowed a time out in the seventh round when Alekseev caught him with a blow below the belt and the challenger started asserting himself, trading blows with the Cuban champion.

As the fight wore on, Alekseev looked the fitter of the fighters, despite Hernandez's imposing start, and the Russian was landing shots at will by the end of the ninth.

But the end came when Hernandez landed another sharp right to Alekseev's chin, putting the Russian down again in the tenth round and the exhausted champion fell to his knees in relief at the win.

This was Herandez's first fight since September 2012 and he had been due to fight Eric Fields of the USA in February, but a hand injury ruled him out.

The victory leaves Hernandez with 14 knock-outs from 28 wins with his only defeat coming against Guyana's Wayne Braithwaite back in 2008.

Hamburg-based Alekseev now has a record of 20 knock-outs in 24 wins as he suffered the third defeat of his career.