Chagaev retains title

Chagaev, in the first defence of the title he won last April by defeating giant Russian Nikolai Valuev, was declared the winner by all three judges, whose scorecards read 117-110, 117-111 and 117-111.

Skelton (pictured right), a 40-year-old who took up professional boxing only in 2002, put up a decent fight but lacked the defensive skills to ward off southpaw Chagaev's powerful punches.

Chagaev, twice world amateur boxing champion, remains unbeaten as a professional with 24 wins, of which 17 were by knockout.

He had been scheduled to face Sultan Ibragimov, the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) champion, in a title unification bout last October but pulled out because of illness.