NEWSWIRE

Mark Breland, showing no ill effects from a stomach infection, defended his World Boxing Assn. welterweight title by stopping Italian challenger Mauro Martelli in the second round at Geneva.

Referee John Coyle of England halted the fight 1:15 into of the second round after Breland, the 1984 Olympic champion, floored Martelli.

Breland, 26, had suffered an infection 24 hours earlier and wanted to cancel the bout. But Swiss promoter Daniel Perroud asked him to wait until the morning to make his decision. By then, the fever had subsided and Breland felt better.

He wasn’t challenged. Martelli kept both hands high for protection in the first round while Breland jabbed away. In the second round, Breland had Martelli on the ropes after a right-left-right combination that drew blood under Martelli’s eye, then attacked with a flurry of punches.