In his first title defense, IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester (33-3, 16 KOs) scores a 10th round TKO over late sub Billy Lyell (21-8, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Jahnsportforum in snowy Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Sylvester was technically better from the opening bell as he pressed the action with little regard for Lyell’s power. After two one-sided rounds, Lyell upped his punch output in round three and as a result was able to keep Sylvester from teeing off so much. By round seven, however, Lyell was clearly slowing down and Sylvester became more and more dominant. Referee Earl Brown stopped it in the tenth at :37 when Lyell’s trainer Jack Lowe pulled his man out by waving a towel. Lyell took the bout on short notice after Sylvester’s original opponent Pablo Navascues tested positive for banned substances.