By Jim Slattengren: This Saturday night, IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs) will be attempting to unify the title when he goes up against WBO heavyweight champion Sultain Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 KOs) in a 12-round bout at Madison Square Garden in New York. Not too many people are giving Ibragimov much of a shot in this one due to a variety of problems that are going against him such as his lack of size and power. Below, I’ve measured the two fighters out and gave my opinion of how they size up against each other.
Size:
This would go easily to Klitschko. At 6’7″ 245 lbs, Wladimir drawfs Ibragimov’s more moderate 6’2″ 225 lbs stats. That size advantage alone makes it plenty tough for any opponent, but when you factor in other areas, it’s going to be tough for Ibragimov.
Power:
This too has to go to Klitschko. Not only does Wladimir have one of the best right hands in the heavyweight division, his left hook is perhaps even more powerful. Though Wladimir is missing an uppercut with which to round out his impressive offensive arsenal, Ibragimov doesn’t appear to be the fighter that Wladimir would be able to use an uppercut on due to his normal distance fighting technigue. Ibragimov has a decent left hand, but it pales in comparison to either Wladimir’s right hand or left hook. Though to look at Ibragimov’s ring record, which shows 17 Kos in his 23 fights, most of the knockouts have come earlier against much weaker competition. Against top level opponents, Ibragimov has only been marginally successful in knocking them out. His one real test was in his bouts with an aged Evander Holyfield and Ray Austin, neither of which Ibragimov came close to hurting, much less knocking out.
Experience:
Klitshko easily has the more experience, not only in total fights, but against world class opposition. This may matter little, but it often is an important factor for inexperienced opponents often times freeze up when faced with a tough opponent like Wladimir Klitschko. For his part, Wladimir has been against tough fighters for the past eight years, going up against veterans such as Chris Byrd, Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster, Ray Mercer, Calvin Brock and Samuel Peter. In comparison, Ibragimov only has Shannon Briggs, Lance Whitaker, Evander Holyfield and Ray Austin to show for his experience. Not bad fighters, but clearly not as good as the resume of Wladimir.
Chin:
This is an area that’s hard to tell which fighter has the better chin, only because Ibragimov has fought so few tough opponents, and the ones that he has fought have had limited mobility. Ibragimov has made it even tougher to guess about the quality of his chin because he tends to move a lot against the bigger punchers he faced, generally staying on the outside to avoid needless contact. However, against Ray Austin, not a particularly big puncher, Ibragimov was knocked down once when he strayed into too close. He wasn’t hurt, however, but it showed what a big fighter could do if he landed against the smaller Ibragimov. As for Wladimir, his chin is obviously his weakness, having been stopped by Sanders, Ross Puritty, and Lamon Brewster. Additionally, Wladimir was almost knocked out by Peter, though he escaped with the victory after suffering three knockdowns at the hands of Peter. While Wladimir’s chin is a problem, he mostly has problems against bigger punchers, and I wouldn’t fit Ibragimov into that category.
Overall:
Except for his chin, Wladimir comes out ahead in every category on my list. As I mentioned previously, though Wladimir’s chin is a problem for him, Ibraigmov, a relatively light puncher, isn’t likely going to be the one to test due to his lack of power and his timid style of fighting. It’s something to be wary of though, for if Ibragimov were to suddenly come at Wladimir and really let his hands go, he may be able to surprise him and perhaps score a quick knockout. Minus that, Ibragimov is going to be in for a tough time come Saturday night.