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HBO World Championship Boxing Recap

February 23, 2008

Madison Square Garden-New York City, New York

This heavyweight title unification match between Dr. Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov is the first major title unification match in the division since November 13, 1999. In that match at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Lennox Lewis retained his WBC Championship, while adding the vacant IBO Championship and Evander Holyfield's WBA and IBF Championships to his trophy case by winning a 12-round unanimous decision.

IBF/IBO/WBO Heavyweight (200+ pounds) 12-Round Championship Unification Match:

Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KO's, 238 pounds) (IBF/IBO Heavyweight Champion) vs. Sultan Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 or 18KO's, 219 pounds) (WBO Heavyweight Champion)

Klitschko won both of his titles by defeating Chris Byrd via technical knockout 41 seconds into round 7 on April 22, 2006 at the SAP-Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Klitschko won Byrd's IBF Championship in that match and the vacant IBO Championship. The previous IBO Champion was Lennox Lewis, who vacated the title to retire. Klitschko is making the fourth defense of his titles.

A great amateur boxer, Klitschko was the1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic gold medalist in boxing at super heavyweight (200+ pounds) representing Ukraine.

Klitschko is being portrayed as a man focused on 2 things, social justice and unifying the heavyweight title. Klitschko normally receives a 60% or greater share of the purse from every match. However, to unify titles he is willing to take far less money. For tonight's match the purse will be split evenly. Klitschko is the holder of 2 doctoral degrees from Kiev University, one in sports science and the other in philosophy. He is a boxing historian and believes in the historical significance of having a true heavyweight champion. To do that a boxer needs all of the heavyweight titles and his quest starts with Ibragimov.

A product of the Cold War Soviet boxing system Klitschko looks every bit the part of Rocky villain Ivan Drago. It has been speculated that his older brother, Vitali Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion in his own right broke down early in life and was forced into an early retirement, because of the steroids the Soviet trainers pumped into the teenagers as part of their government training. Wladimir Klitschko has the body of someone who should be posing for a Renaissance statue, and to complete the picture of this Soviet era wrecking machine, as a child he dreamed of joining the Red Army before he became a boxer. (In reality he is supposed to be a nice guy, who only looks scary and usually enjoys hurting people for a living.)

Klitschko's last match wasa technical knockout victory at 3:00 of round 6 over Lamon Brewster, when Brewster's corner threw in the towel after round 6 during their match on July 7, 2007 in Cologne, Germany. When Klitschko's camp was unable to reach an agreement to face any of the other heavyweight champions, the Ukrainian took the opportunity this summer to avenge a 2004 technical knockout loss to Brewster. Klitschko punished Brewster with his jab the entire match. The Olympic gold medalist landed 162 of the 346 total jabs he threw, for an astounding 47% jab connect percentage. That works out to 27 jabs landed per round. The heavyweight average is 19 jabs thrown per round. Klitschko averaged 58 jabs thrown per round for the match. The heavyweight average for total punches thrown in a round is 46. Before the end of round 5, Brewster had eaten more jabs then in any match in his entire career, including the matches that had gone 12 rounds. At the time of the stoppage Klitschko was on pace to break the record for the most jabs landed by a boxer in any weight class on record. Klitschko would have broken the record for most jabs landed by a heavyweight before the end of round 9.

Klitschko is The Ring's number 1 contender at heavyweight to their vacant championship in the weight class.

Ibragimov won his title by defeating then champion Shannon Briggs via 12-round unanimous decision on June 2, 2007at Boardwalk Hall. The Russian is making the second defense of his title.

An outstanding amateur boxer, Ibragimov took home the silver medal in boxing for Russia at heavyweight (200 pounds) at the Sydney Olympics. Ibragimov lost in the finals to legendary Cuban boxer Felix Savon, who earned his third consecutive Olympic gold medal at heavyweight by out pointing Ibragimov, 21-13.

Ibragimov is considered as obsessed with unifying the heavyweight title as Klitschko. In an effort to prepare for the bigger heavyweights he will need to beat to do this, Ibragimov has begun working with Jeff Mayweather, the brother of Roger Mayweather and Floyd Mayweather, Sr. and the uncle of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Ibragimov and the soft spoken Mayweather have been changing the Russian from a boxer that stands in front of his opponents and tries to slug it out with them to a movement oriented boxer. With the body of an out of work truck driver, Ibragimov is billed to have developed amazingly fast footwork and hand speed. Mayweather is seeming to try and develop Ibragimov into almost a heavyweight version of Mayweather, Jr. That makes sense, because Jeff Mayweather trained Mayweather, Jr. for his first 15 matches as a pro when Mayweather, Sr. was in jail, before Jeff and Junior had a falling out over money.

Ibragimov has one common opponent with Klitschko, and it is the lone blemish on the Russian's record. On July 28, 2006 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hoteland Casino in Hollywood, Florida, Ibragimov went to a 12-round draw with Ray Austin. Ibragimov knocked Austin down in round 4, but Austin recovered to knock Ibragimov down in round 10 and earn the draw. On March 10, 2007, Klitschko defeated Austin via technical knockout, 1:23 into round 2 without ever throwing a right hand and Klitschko boxes out of the orthodox stance.

Ibragimov's last match was a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Evander Holyfield on October 13, 2007 at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia. Ibragimov's scheduled opponent that night was Ruslan Chagaev, holder of the WBA Heavyweight Championship. However, Chagaev pulled out of the match with what was rumored to be a case of hepatitis.

Ibragimov is The Ring's number 6 ranked contender at heavyweight.

At 31-years old, Klitschko is 1 year younger then the 32-year-old Ibragimov. Klitschko has the height advantage standing 6' 6" tall, while Ibragimov is listed at 6' 2" tall. In reality Ibragimov is probably shorter then that. Klitschko has the reach advantage with a 26" arm length and Ibragimov has a 25" arm length. Neither boxers' weight approaching match time is available, but it is unlikely to have changed much since the weigh-in. Klitschko looks in phenomenal body building shape and has arrived at the lowest weight of his career since a dominant win over another southpaw in Chris Byrd on October 14, 2000. Ibragimov weighs the same as he did for his last match. However, appears to be a boxer that belongs at 200 or maybe even 175 pounds and put on fat to compete at heavyweight. Klitschko will box out of the orthodox stance, and Ibragimov will box out of the southpaw stance. Ibragimov is approximately a 5-to-1 underdog approaching match time according to ESPN.

New York uses the unified rules of boxing, with one change in that both the referee and doctor can stop the match. Under the unified rules only the referee can stop the match. The referee is Wayne Kelly. Two of the judges keeping official score of this match from ringside are from New York and the other is from Nevada. Keeping unofficial score for HBO for this match is Harold Lederman.

Early in round 1, Klitschko is trying to use his lead left hand to knock down Ibragimov's lead right hand. Klitschko is also stepping on Ibragimov's front foot frequently in the opening minute of the match. Feet tangling when boxers who compete out of opposing stances face each other is not unusual. However, with the frequency and the fact that Klitschko's foot is always landing on top, Kellerman suggests that the feet tangling here may not be unintentional on Klitschko's part. Not a lot of punches landed in round 1, but Ibragimov may have won it by landing a few body shots, 10-9. Lederman scores round 1 for Ibragimov, 10-9. Klitschko is beginning to land his jab in the first minute of round 2, but Ibragimov is still scoring to the body of Klitschko. So far Ibragimov has not been able to get close enough to hit the head of Klitschko. Close round 2, but the powerful Klitschko jab may have been enough to win the round, 10-9. Ibragimov attempted to hit Klitschko in the head in the final seconds of round 2, but only managed to connect with the Ukrainian's shoulder. Lederman awards round 2 to Klitschko, 10-9. Through 2 rounds, Klitschko has landed 17 total punches, while Ibragimov has landed 13 total punches. All of Klitschko's 17 connects have been jabs. The Klitschko jab dominates round 3. Klitschko wins 3, 10-9, and leads on my scorecard after 3 rounds, 29-28. In a weird dynamic to this match, through 3 rounds Klitschko has not thrown a right hand, and only attempted 3 non-jabs. Ibragimov said going in that his strategy was to test Klitschko's chin, because all 3 of the Ukrainian's losses have been by knockout. So far, Ibragimov has yet to execute that game plan, and Klitschko is becoming more dominant as the match progresses. After 3 rounds, Ibragimov appears to be getting tired. Through 3 rounds, Klitschko has landed 34 of the jabs 66 he has thrown, for an amazing 52% jab connect percentage. Those numbers mean Klitschko landed 17 jabs in round 3, the same number of total punches he had landed through the first 2 rounds. Ibragimov has landed 7 jabs through the first 3 rounds. Lederman scores round 3 for Klitschko 10-9, and has the Olympic gold medalist winning after 3 rounds, 29-28.

Klitschko wins round 4, 10-9. However, Klitschko is getting sloppy defensively in round 4 by starting to hold his hands too low. Lederman scores round 4 the same. Klitschko wins round 5, 10-9. However, the crowd which has been at times unkind to this match earlier is really starting to turn on this match. The crowd's anger is mostly directed at Klitschko and his refusal to throw a right hand. Klitschko threw a good right hand for the first time in round 5 and the crowd erupted in cheers. The Ukrainian then did not land a right hand for the rest of the round, and only half-heartedly attempted 1. Ibragimov appears completely exhausted at this point and available for many different punches and combinations Klitschko has the ability to throw. Lederman scores round 5 for Klitschko. According to CompuBox through 5 rounds Klitschko is averaging 11 punches landed and 23 total punches thrown. Through 5 rounds, Ibragimov is averaging 7 punches landed of the 28 total punches he throws per round. Round 6 is Ibragimov's best offensive round of the match, and possibly good enough to win a close round. Ibragimov wins round 6, 10-9, but Klitschko is winning the match after 6 rounds on my scorecard, 58-56. This match is almost as bad as Taylor-Spinks. In round 6, Klitschko landed 1 of the 5 power punches he threw. However, that is an improvement over the 0 he landed in the first 3 rounds. Lederman scored round 6 for Ibragimov, 10-9, but also has Klitschko winning the match after 6 rounds, 58-56.

Klitschko dominates round 7 and wins the round, 10-9. Lederman sees round 7 the same. Ibragimov finally goes to the mat with 2:02 to go in round 8. However, it appears to have been the result of a Klitschko push behind the back of the head when the Russian was off balance. The referee rules it a slip, and the match is quickly restarted with 1:58 to go in the round. Klitschko picked up the pace and featured power punches in round 8. He wins round 8 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. Klitschko unleashed with a flurry of power punches that left only the ropes holding Ibragimov up with 2:23 to go in round 9. The referee should have ruled that a knockdown, but did not. Ibragimov survives round 9, but looks very tired. Klitschko wins round 9 on my scorecard, 10-8, and is ahead in the match after 9 rounds, 88-82. Lederman gives Klitschko round 9 by the more likely score of 10-9, and has him winning the match after 9 rounds, 88-83.

An awkward wrestling match takes place in the center of the ring, and both boxers tumble to the canvas with 1:58 to go in round 10. In amateur wrestling, Ibragimov would have received the 2 points for landing on top, but both boxers were partially responsible for the spill to the mat. The referee correctly rules that both boxers slipped, and after some untangling the action is resumed with 1:46 to go in the round. Klitschko wins round 10, 10-9. Following round 10 the crowd give the match which is turning into a bit of a wrestling match, a hearty and well deserved boo. Klitschko takes round 10 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. Klitschko had Ibragimov in trouble as the bell sounded to end round 11. The Ukrainian wins round 11, 10-9. Lederman scores round 11 the same. Klitschko wins round 12 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. Both of us score the match in favor of Klitschko. Lederman has Klitschko winning 118-110, and my scorecard has Klitschko winning 118-109.

The official decision from Buffer is that the judges have scored the match: 119-110, 117-111, 118-110,all for the winner by unanimous decision and now the unified Heavyweight Championof the World, "Dr. Steelhammer" Wladimir Klitschko. The win moves Klitschko to 50-3, with 44 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers have Klitschko landing 148 of the 348 total punches he threw, for a 43% total connect percentage. Klitschko landed 108 of the 245 jabs he threw, for a 44% jab connect percentage. Ibragimov landed 97 of the 316 total punches he threw, for a 31% total connect percentage. The Russian landed 16 total jabs in the match of the 137 he threw, for a 12% jab connect percentage. That is 1 fewer then the number of jabs Klitschko landed in round 3.

Klitschko looked tentative and unimpressive in this match against an opponent that it is perceived he should have easily knocked out. The Ukrainian was coming off several stellar and dominating performances where he looked like the dominant heavyweight champion of the world. This match against a good opponent damaged Klitschko's image as a wrecking machine, and despite winning another belt does not appear to put him any closer to winning public recognition as the heavyweight champion of the world. Klitschko is next scheduled to face mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin. That match will probably happen in Germany, where Povetkin is a proven draw and that match is almost guaranteed to be more entertaining then this one was. After that there is the hope that Klitschko would continue to try to win more titles by going after the winner of Oleg Maskaev vs. Samuel Peter who will meet on March 8 for a heavyweight title. However, Vitali Klitschko, who last boxed on December 11, 2004 is somehow the number 1 contender to that title, and Wladimir does not want to block Vitali's attempt to win another heavyweight title. When asked in the post match interview about facing his older brother, Wladimir seemed very non-committal where in previous years he had publicly opposed the idea completely.

Ibragimov needs to move down in weight. The fact he held a title at heavyweight speaks more to the state of the heavyweight division then his immense skills, although he may be a very good boxer. That fact did not show itself tonight, though. Rather, Ibragimov appeared to be a small out of shape boxer who cannot handle the big and truly elite boxer in the division.

The heavyweight match on this show was awful, and the time can be better spent watching press conferences online.