According to the latest boxing news, International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the process of working out a heavyweight unification bout with World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov for February 2008. Nothing has been ironed out at this point, but the talks are very serious. However, the bout would seem to have little interest for the average boxing fan, most of which have no idea who Ibragimov is other than s short Russian fighter with a double chin and a physique similar to an average couch potato. Wladimir, however, seems obsessed with the idea of a unification bout, perhaps fantasizing that it will bring him more respect from the fans and possibly more money in the future.
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko boxing news
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov in 2008?
According to Sports Illustrated, International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is in talks with World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov about a possible unification bout in 2008. Klitschko, 31, the younger brother of former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, has been obsessed with unifying the title for the past year. However, up to this point Wladimir has had little luck in attracting the other heavyweight title holders into a bout with him. Ibragimov, who recently easily defeated 44-year old challenger Evander Holyfield, appears to be interested in taking on Wladimir. Why, that’s a good question. It would seem that Ibragimov would have little chance in defeating Wladimir, and by taking him on it would seem very likely that he’ll lose his title, and and look bad in doing so.
However, it’s not so hard understand when you see that heavyweight challengers Tony Thompson and Alexander Dimitrenko are breathing down Ibragimov’s neck, both of which would have an excellent chance at beating Ibragimov almost as easily as Wladimir will.
Peter Klitschko: Samuel Interested in Fighting Wladimir Next
According to the latest boxing news, World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs) has stated in an interview that he’s interested in fighting either Oleg Maskaev or Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs), and is hoping that he can get back in the ring within two months. From the looks of it, I’d say offhand that Peter is probably angry at himself for getting knocked down three times by the relative light-hitting Jameel McCline in their bout last weekend, a fight that Peter was on the verge of losing in the 3rd round.
Peter looked nothing short of horrible, like an unschooled amateur fighter going up against a seasoned professional. It doesn’t help his case any the fact that he threw a large number of fouls in the bout, enough for him to be disqualified if the referee had been interested in conducting his job in a proper manner. If it hadn’t been for the case of McCline tiring out – as usual – after the first three rounds, Peter would have likely been stopped early on. While Peter eventually was able to eek out the decision with a late surge, the damage to his reputation has been done already. Hence, Peter’s desire to take on Wladimir Klitschko, a fighter who already defeated Peter two years ago by a 12-round decision.
Could Peter Go Another Twelve Rounds With Wladimir Klitschko?
By Sasha “Kozlov” Baranov: With a little more than a week to go between World Boxing Council interim heavyweight champion Samuel Peter’s (28-1, 22 KOs) bout with Jameel McCline, I thought it would be interesting to consider what Peter’s chances would be like in a rematch with IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs). In that bout, fought on September 24, 2005, Peter knocked Wladimir down on three separate occasions and had him on the verge of being stopped in the bout. However, two of the knockdowns were the result of illegal rabbit punches to the back of Wladimir’s head, and thus should have been negated by referee Randy Neumann. Wladimir was guilty of his own issues as well by continuously clinching Peter whenever the Nigerian fighter got in close.
In fact, Wladimir initiated over 90 clinches in the 12-round bout, averaging over seven clinches per round. The tactic worked to perfection, for the most part, as Peter was unable to land effectively once he got within punching range. When Wladimir wasn’t clinching, though, he easily boxed circles around Peter, hitting him at will with jabs, straight right hands and left hooks.
Klitschko vs. Tua: Is David Next For Wladimir?
According to the latest boxing news from New Zealand’s Sunday News, former heavyweight challenger David Tua (48-3-1, 40 KOs) could possibly land a title shot against IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs) as early as the beginning of 2008. The arrangement involves some legal issues apparently between Tua’s promoter Cedric Kushner and Wladimir Klitschko’s promoter Shelly Finkel. By Wladimir choosing to fight Tua (currently ranked # 12 in the WBC), Kushner would drop the lawsuit, the New Zealand Sunday News reports.
As things stand, Tua has done little in recent years to warrant a shot at the heavyweight title. Since returning to boxing following a two year absence in 2005, Tua has fought and beaten six journeyman-type fighters, none of which are ranked in the top 10. In all but one of them, his most recent bout against Saul Montana in August 2007, Tua has showed few signs of his former knockout form from 1992-2001.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Evander Holyfield or Corrie Sanders?
By Kevin Dinkins: Since destroying Lamon Brewster in six brutal rounds last month on July 14th, there’s been a tremendous amount of curiosity about who IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs) will elect to fight next. Of the names most bandied about, Corrie Sanders and Evander Holyfield have come up the most. Since Wladimir has a non-mandatory defense coming up, he’s free to take on a lower level fighter like these two, not that they’re not credible opponents, mind you, but clearly not at the top of the class at this stage in their careers. Normally, Wladimir would fight a lower guy, possibly someone in the lower top 10 or possibly as low as 14, but a big problem right now, unfortunately, is that many of the fighters in the top 10 are busy and have fights coming up.
The fighters lower than that, however, are relatively unknown and not something that the cable networks want to see matched up with Wladimir, mainly because it won’t generate fan interest in wanting to view the fight. That’s where Holyfield comes in, and to a much lesser extent, Sanders, both of whom the fans might tune in to watch just for the spectacle of seeing them essentially be put out of their misery by Klitschko, whom at this point in his career is at the top of his game.