Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov
| Date | 23 February 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Madison Square Garden in New York, New York | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | IBF/WBO/IBO Heavyweight Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Klitschko defeated Ibragimov by Unanimous Decision | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov, billed as "The Unification", was a professional boxing match contested on 23 February 2008 for the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championship.[1]
Background
After avenging an earlier defeat when he beat Lamon Brewster after 6 rounds in July 2007, Wladimir Klitschko had made three successful defences the IBF belt he had won from Chris Byrd in 2006, and was rated as the best Heavyweight in the world by Ring magazine (Sultan Ibragimov was 6th behind WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev and WBA Champion Ruslan Chagaev).[2]. Sultan Ibragimov won the WBO belt by beating Shannon Briggs before getting a decision over four time Former Champion Evander Holyfield. This fight would mark the first heavyweight unification bout since Lennox Lewis had become the last Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in his rematch with Holyfield in November 1999.
Klitschko had previously held the WBO belt from October 2000 to his shock March 2003 defeat to Corrie Sanders.
The fight
Klitschko dominated the fight, picking up a 119-110, 118-110 and 117-111 decision to become a unified champion.
Aftermath
Ibragimov would retire after this fight, while Klitschko would go on hold the WBO belt until his 2015 defeat to Tyson Fury.
Undercard
Confirmed bouts:[3]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
 Joe Greene
|
 Francisco Antonio Mora
|
WBA-NABA Middleweight Title WBO-NABO Middleweight Title |
10th round RTD. |
| Johnathon Banks
|
Imamu Mayfield
|
Cruiserweight (10 rounds) | 1st round TKO. |
 John Duddy
|
 Walid Smichet
|
Middleweight (10 rounds) | Majority decision. |
| Peter Quillin
|
Thomas Brown
|
Middleweight (6 rounds) | 2nd round KO. |
 Alexander Ustinov
|
Earl Ladson
|
Heavyweight (4 rounds) | 1st round KO. |
 Ronney Vargas
|
Monyette Flowers
|
Super Welterweight (4 rounds) | 1st round KO. |
Broadcasting
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Germany |
RTL |
 Hungary |
RTL Klub |
| Russia |
NTV Plus Sport |
 Ukraine |
Inter |
 United Kingdom |
Sky Sports |
| United States |
HBO |
References
- ^ "Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: 2007 - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".