NEUBRANDENBURG, Germany (AP)—Sebastian Sylvester of Germany stopped Billy Lyell in the 10th round Saturday to retain his middleweight title.

Lyell’s corner threw in the towel after Sylvester landed a hard right to the American’s chin and followed through with more shots to Lyell’s head and body.

It was the first defense of the IBF belt that Sylvester (33-3, 16 KOs) won during a split decision victory over Giovanni Lorenzo last September. Sylvester has won four straight since losing a unanimous decision to fellow middleweight titleholder Felix Sturm.

Lyell (21-8), who works out of the same Youngstown, Ohio, gym as Kelly Pavlik, was a late replacement for Pablo Navascues of Spain, who was suspended for failing a drug test.