Dimitrenko vs. Hoffmann

In his toughest bout to date, unbeaten Ukranian heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitreneko (26-0, 16 KOs) will be defending his WBO-inter continental title against German Timo Hoffmann (36-5-1, 20 Kos) on November 17 in Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Both Dimitrenko and Hoffmann stand at 6’7” 250+ pounds, making this fight a bout in between two gargantuan. Beyond that, the skill level between the two of them are drastically different. The undefeated Dimitrenko, ranked #2 in the World Boxing Organization, is perhaps the best heavyweight prospect in the division, though he’s still largely unknown by many fans due to most of his fights taking place in Germany. His skills are second to none, resembling a younger Wladimir Klitschko at the start of his career. With impressive wins over journeyman fighters Ross Purity, Chris Koval, Vaughn Bean and Malcom Tann, Dimitrenko has proved to be a force in the heavyweight division.

However, his German management has been slow to bring him along, a common characteristic in the German boxing community. Hopefully, after this bout with Hoffmann, his management will start moving him forward against tougher opposition. If not, Dimitrenko needs to consider getting away from Germany, perhaps moving to America or England, where they don’t shelter their fighters nearly as much.

He was then put in with series of 2nd rate fighters with hopes of getting his confidence back. However, he soon after met defeat against Henry Akinwande, losing a 12-round split decision in 2003. Hoffmann would lose two more times, most recently to Timur Ibragimov in an embarrassing 10-round decision loss in June 2007. The fight resembled more of a ruby match than any kind of boxing fight, and both fighters looked just plain awful all the way through it.