Updated

The 40-year-old Ukrainian, whose younger brother Vladimir holds the WBO, IBF, WBA and IBO crowns, improved his record to 44-2 but was made to go the distance against the former British and Commonwealth champion, who made more enemies than friends with his antics before and after the 12 round clash.

"Chisora put in a solid performance today but as a person, I have no respect for him," Klitschko said in a ringside interview.

The taller Klitschko set the foundation for victory by dominated his shorter opponent in the opening rounds, his longer reach allowing him to pound Chisora with punishing rights from a distance.

Chisora, who had slapped his rival at the weigh-in on Friday and also spat water into Vladimir's face during the pre-fight ceremonies, recovered well and rattled Klitschko with a solid uppercut in the fifth round as he gained in confidence.

Klitschko, some 15 centimetres taller than the Briton, continued to cause damage with his big right but failed to land the decisive blow as he gradually ran out of steam and was content to edge the latter rounds to secure the points win.

The three judges scored 118-110, 118-110 and 119-111 in favor of the Ukrainian with a defiant Chisora demanding a rematch as 12,000 crowd booed and jeered him.

"This booing, I don't. As long as they paid money to watch the sport I love, I don't mind," he said.

"I want another fight. There will be a rematch or I will fight his younger brother," added Chisora, who lost his third bout in his last four contests to fall to 15-3.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by John O'Brien)