Boxing/Madison Square Garden bill: Andy Lee and Wladimir Klitschko both tasted blood on Saturday night - and it was their own.

Lee, the 22-year-old middleweight from Limerick, posted a one-sided win over New Jersey veteran Dennis Sharpe in his Madison Square Garden debut, but had to overcome a gash along his right eyebrow that bled over the final two rounds.

Klitschko, the Ukrainian, successfully defended his IBF heavyweight championship, stopping American Calvin Brock in the seventh after a clash of heads had opened up a gash above the champion's left eye.

In addition to Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, Lee and Klitschko share another presence in their corners: Stitch Doran.

The cut man's job description is simple enough: "I stop blood," the late corner-man/author FX Toole explained in the pages of Rope Burns. "I stop it between rounds for fighters so they can stay in the fight."

Rarely does a cut man get a chance to strut his emergency-room stuff before a star-studded audience that includes the likes of Muhammad Ali, Dustin Hoffman, Spike Lee, Dennis Hopper, and Axl Rose, but with the luminaries anxiously watching from their ringside perches, Doran proved himself equal to the task on both occasions.

Utilising his powerful right-handed jab, Lee dominated Sharpe and won all six rounds on the scorecards of judges Glenn Feldman, Ron McNair and Tom Schreck, but pronounced himself less than satisfied with the overall performance.

"I didn't box as well as I should have," said Lee, who had to make most of the fighting in this one.

"He was a difficult opponent, because whenever I tried to engage him he tried to move out of range."

"(Sharpe) was extremely cautious," said Steward. "It was obvious that he was mainly concerned about surviving and not getting knocked out."

That the cut, ripped open by a Sharpe left hand in the fifth, was a new experience for Lee was evident. He repeatedly pawed at the wound during the sixth, effectively undoing Doran's between-rounds handiwork and causing the wound to reopen.

"I couldn't see out of my right eye in that last round," said Lee after posting his sixth win in as many professional bouts.

Lee had been scheduled to box again next month in Miami, but the damage incurred on Saturday seems likely to push that December 16th target date back until after the holidays.

"Andy won't even be able to spar for a few weeks," said Steward, "so we'll have to give him some time off now."

Brock, the "Boxing Banker" from North Carolina, brought a 29-0 record to his challenge to Klitschko, but the wins had been accumulated largely at the expense of second-tier heavyweights and he was given little chance against the 198cm, 109-kilo (6ft 6in, 241lb) champion.

After a shaky first round, Brock performed creditably, but his lingering presence was abetted by Klitschko's inexplicable decision to box virtually one-handed over the first six rounds.

Although he was able to keep Brock at bay with his jab interspersed with occasional left hooks, Klitschko performed from a stiff, European-style stance that held his right in reserve, presumably as safeguard against a Brock left hook that never materialised.

A clash of heads opened up the cut to Klitschko's head in the sixth, sending Doran into a Code Blue alert between rounds. Although Stitch was able to staunch the flow, Klitschko confessed to a "sense of urgency" and in the seventh became a two-fisted fighter for the first time.

The end was not long in coming. A lead right hand rocked Brock midway through the round, and not long afterward Klitschko rocked the Banker with a stiff jab followed by a sweeping right that sent him to the canvas.

Although Brock struggled to his feet at the count of eight, referee Wayne Kelly took him into protective custody, waving off the fight at 2:10 of the round.

"I guess I should have tried that earlier," said Klitschko.

Klitschko, now 47-3, said afterward he hoped to next fight one of the other heavyweight claimants in the hope of unifying the currently splintered championship. That would seem to narrow the list of prospective opponents down to fellow Soviets Nicolay Valuev (WBA) and Oleg Maskaev (WBC) and the newly crowned WBO champion, Shannon Briggs.

"I want to fight anybody who has a belt," said Klitschko. "It doesn't matter which one."

Although he was able to subdue Brock with relative ease once he put his mind to fighting, Klitschko's performance is unlikely to frighten away any of the above trio. He did what he had to do, but over the first six rounds he often seemed tentative and, occasionally, fatigued.

As the crowd left the mecca of boxing well after midnight, Budd Schulberg - the 92-year-old author whose 1947 novel The Harder They Fall chronicled the rise of a large but unskilled protagonist named Toro Molino (whose rise through the pugilistic ranks had been facilitated by a steady diet of unworthy opponents) - was asked if Dr Steelhammer reminded him of any other heavyweights he had seen in his eight decades at ringside.

"Yes," Schulberg replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Primo Carnera".