Vladamir Klitschko retained his WBC belt and the title of legitimate heavyweight champion by stopping Danny Williams in the 8th round last night.

Williams, 32-4 (27), who went down in the opening round and four more times in the 8th before referee Jay Nady stopped the fight, took such a beating that he was taken to hospital for a brain scan. Klitschko, 35-2 (34), went to the hospital too - to have his sore hands treated.

The sorry state of boxing's heavyweight division has been highly publicized and ridiculed, but Klitshcko's winning streak is actually a blessing. Think about it. As the Ukrainian giant continues to steamroll over the competition, taking out Larry Donald, Kirk "Krispy Kreme" Johnson, Corrie Sanders, Williams, and almost Lennox Lewis, his stock has risen. Most mainstream fight fans acknowledge and recognize that Klitschko - not Chris Byrd or John Ruiz, Don King's phony titleholders- is the true, linear heavyweight champion of the world, that he is the man to beat. So as long as Klitschko keeps winning the way a heavyweight champion is supposed to win - by knockout - the competition is going to have to display some serious heart, boxing skills, and punching power to dethrone him.

True, an Andrew Golota, Hasim Rahman or even a Domenick Guinn (if he doesn't fall asleep during the fight) could all play David to Klitschko's Goliath, but none of them, with the possible exception of Guinn, have any real staying power. Furthermore, King is reluctant to have any of his fighters fight for the TRUE title for fear of losing promotion rights, and this is a blessing in disguise for obvious reasons (Klitschko vs. Ruiz, anyone?). Essentially, the boxers below Klitshcko in the food chain are heavyweight leftovers, scraps of underachievers and past-their-primers that are ready to be taken by the new guard.

And once the young up-and-comers start coming up, the dawn of perhaps another Golden era in heavyweight boxing will begin. For now, we have Klitschko and we should be thankful. He may not be pretty, he may not float like Ali, jab like Holmes, or move like Tyson, but either do any of those ranked below him. Still, he's a gentleman with a 92% knockout ratio.

And he restores dignity and respect to the heavyweight title.

On the undercard, the sensational Miguel Cotto stopped hard-hitting Randall Bailey in the 6th round and staked his claim to the most consistent fighter in professional boxing.