Wladimir Klitschko: IBF/WBO/IBO Heavyweight Champion of the World

On December 13th Wladimir "Steelhammner" Klitschko will defend his WBO/IBF/IBO titles against former 2 time heavyweight champion and new IBF mandatory Hasim Rahman.

Hasim Rahman became the mandatory replacement when former #1 IBF contender Alexander Povetkin suffered an ankle injury in preparations for his fight with Klitschko.

HBO was originally going to televise the Klitscho vs. Povetkin match but since the opponent changed they may not. Showtime has expressed interest int he fight, so most likely if HBO opts out Showtime will pick it up.

*This was originally written on my Klitschko Blog on 3/6/08

I recently read that WBA and WBC cruiserweight champion called Wladimir Klitschko a "bum" when he told reporters that he "Can't Wait To Go Up And Knock That Bum [Wladimir Klitschko] Out". He said this after expressing interest in moving up to the heavyweight division after he gets by his next opponent: WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinell. I should say IF he gets by Enzo, since Enzo is a pretty good fighter himself and not someone David Haye should take lightly.

I believe this is just a promotional attempt by Haye in hopes he will eventually get a shot at the title. If nothing else he knows he'd get a big pay day against Klitschko even if he loses. So why not stir up the pot and hope for the best.

Theres an article on EastSideBoxing.com where you can read more about this.

2008
12-13 -- Hasim Rahman, Germany For the WBO/IBF/IBO Heavyweight Championship
07-12 -- Tony Thompson, Hamburg Germany W KO 11(retained WBO,IBF,IBO belts)
02-23 -- Sultan Ibragimov, New York, NY, W 12
(Retained IBF Heavyweight Title)
(Won WBO Heavyweight Title)
2007
07-07 -- Lamon Brewster, Cologne, Germany, TKO 6
(Retained IBF Heavyweight Title)
03-10 -- Ray Austin, Mannheim, Germany, TKO
(Retained IBF Heavyweight Title) Video

2006
11-11 -- Calvin Brock, New York, NY, TKO 7
(Retained IBF Heavyweight Title) Video Final Rounds Part 1 Part 2
04-22 -- Chris Byrd, Mannheim, Germany, TKO 7
(Won IBF Heavyweight Title) Video Highlights

2005
09-24 -- Samuel Peter, Atlantic City, NJ, W 12
04-23 -- Eliseo Castillo, Dortmund, Germany, TKO 4

2004
10-02 -- DaVarryl Williamson, Las Vegas, NV, W Tech Dec 5
04-10 -- Lamon Brewster, Las Vegas, NV, TKO by 5
(For WBO Heavyweight Title) Video Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

2003
12-20 -- Danell Nicholson, Kiel, Germany, TKO 4 Video
08-30 -- Fabio Moli, Munich, Germany, KO 1 Video
03-08 -- Corrie Sanders, Hannover, Germany, TKO by 2
(Lost WBO Heavyweight Title) Video

2002
12-07 -- Jameel McCline, Las Vegas, NV, W TKO 10
(Retained WBO Heavyweight Title)
06-29 -- Ray Mercer, Atlantic City, NJ, W TKO 6
(Retained WBO Heavyweight Title) Video Final Round
03-16 -- Francois Botha, Stuttgart, Germany, W TKO 8
(Retained WBO Heavyweight Title) Video Part 1 Part 2

2001
08-04 -- Charles Shufford, Las Vegas, NV, W TKO 6
(Retained WBO Heavyweight Title)
03-24 -- Derrick Jefferson, Munich, Germany, W TKO 2
(Retained WBO Heavyweight Title)

2000
10-14 -- Chris Byrd, Cologne, Germany, W 12
(Won WBO Heavyweight Title)
07-15 -- Monte Barrett, London, England, W TKO 7 Video Highlights
04-29 -- David Bostice, New York, NY, W TKO 2 Video
03-18 -- Paea Wolfgramm, Hamburg, Germany, W KO 1 Video

1999
12-04 -- Lajos Erös, Hannover, Germany, W KO 2 Video
11-12 -- Phil Jackson, Las Vegas, NV, W KO 2
09-25 -- Axel Schulz, Cologne, Germany, W TKO 8
07-17 -- Joseph Chingangu, Dusseldorf, Germany, W TKO 5
05-22 -- Tony LaRosa, Budapest, Hungary, W TKO 1
04-24 -- Everett (Bigfoot) Martin, Munich, Germany, W TKO 8
02-13 -- Zoran Vujecic, Stuttgart, Germany, W KO 1

1998
12-05 -- Ross Puritty, Kiev, Ukraine, L TKO 11
11-14 -- Donnell Wingfield, Munich, Germany, W KO 1
10-03 -- Eli Dixon, Augsburg, Germany, W KO 3
09-19 -- Steve Pannell, Oberhausen, Germany, W KO 2
08-06 -- Carlos Monroe, Marksville, LA, W TKO 6
07-10 -- Najee Shaheed, Munich, Germany, W KO 1
05-23 -- Cody Koch, Offenburg, Germany, W KO 4
03-14 -- Everett Martin, Hamburg, Germany, W 8
02-14 -- Marcos McIntyre, Stuttgart, Germany, W KO 3

1997
12-20 -- Derrick Lampkins, Offenburg, Germany, W TKO 1 Video
12-13 -- Ladislav Husarik, Hamburg, Germany, W TKO 3
12-06 -- Jerry Halstead, Offenbach, Germany, W TKO 2 Video
10-11 -- Marcos Gonzalez, Cottbus, Germany, W KO 2 Video
09-20 -- James Pritchard, Aachen, Germany, W TKO 3 Video
08-23 -- Biko Botowamungo, Stuttgart, Germany, W TKO 5
07-12 -- Gilberto Williamson, Hagen, Germany, W TKO 3
06-27 -- Salvador Maciel, Offenburg, Germany, W KO 1 Video
06-13 -- Paul Ashley, Oberhausen, Germany, W KO 2 Video
05-10 -- Mark Wills, Frankfurt, Germany, W KO 1 Video
04-12 -- Mark Young, Aachen, Germany, W TKO 2 Video
02-15 -- Carlos Monroe, Cottbus, Germany, W DQ 6
01-25 -- Troy Weida, Stuttgart, Germany, W TKO 3 Video

1996
12-21 -- Bill Corrigan, Frankfurt, Germany, W TKO 1 Video
11-30 -- Exum Speight, Wiener Neustadt, Austria, W TKO 2 Video
11-16 -- Fabian Meza, Hamburg, Germany, W KO 1 Video

50 Wins, 3 Loss, 44 Knockouts

Wladimir Klitschko - Date of Birth: March 25, 1976

**Post will be updated after next fight

Wladimir Klitschko was born on March 25, 1976 in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. A 2 time WBO champion, Klitschko currently holds the IBF, WBO, and IBO world heavyweight titles. His elder brother, Vitali Klitschko, is a former WBC heavyweight champion. Wladimir & his brother Vitali are immensely popular in Germany.

In the 1996 Summer Olymbics he won the Super-Heavweight Gold in Boxing over Paea Wolfgramm becoming the first white gold medalist in the highest weight class in 36 years. Klitschko concluded an outstanding amateur career with a 134-6 record. He later fought Paea Wolfgramm again as a professional in 2000 and defeated him easily with a KO in round 1.

Wladimir won his 1st 24 fights without a loss and only 1 fight going the distance. His next fight was against Ross Purity and in front of a home crown he lost his composure, used too much energy and wore himself out resulting in his 1st TKO loss. It should be noted that his brother Vitali later fought Ross Purity and defeated him.

Wladimir then went on to win the next 10 fights, including his fight against Paea Wolfgramm, when he got the opportunity to fight Chris Byrd in 2000 for the WBO Heavyweight strap. In the Chris Byrd fight he decisively outfought and won a unianimous decision over Byrd.

He then fought on against some pretty impressive names in his next few fights: Derrick Jefferson, Charles Shufford (who played the role as George Foreman in the movie "Ali"), Francois Botha, Ray Mercer, and Jameel McCline until he met a South African fighter in 2003 named Corrie Sanders.

In the Corrie Sanders fight, its been said the Wladimir didn't take him seriously, which is not a good situation to be relaxed against Corrie Sanders as he is a good quick starter with heavy quick hands and a southpaw stance. Thats exactly what happened Corrie started quick and TKO'd Wladimir in Round 2 of this fight for a shock around the boxing world. At the time Wladimir was considered the heir apparent to the heavyweight division and was in works with a fight with Lennox Lewis. This changed that of course.

After his 2nd loss he fought a couple more fights and was scheduled to face Lamon Brewster for another title shot. This was his 1st fight with his new trainer Emanuel Steward who is still his trainer even to this day and has improved him much especially in the area of defense. In the Brewster fight, and under mysterious circumstances, he again tasted defeat. I say mysterious because he was winning the fight handily for the 1st few rounds, even almost knocking out Brewster, when Wladimir began to show signs of physical weakness that were later ruled to be something else other than just exhaustion from the fight. There have been many theories as to what may have happened but nothing has come out to the publics knowledge as a certainty. It can't be ruled out that it was just exhaustion from punch output either but the situation was mysterious none-the-less. To Lamon's credit he sense the change, came on strong, and ended up with the win.

Not to say any loss is an excitement but this in my opinion, if not Wladimir's as well, was his most disappointing loss. The reason being that it has always been the brother's dream to each have 2 world titles, and later that month Vitali fought for the vacant WBC strap that was relinquished when Lennox Lewis retired against his former brother's foe Corrie Sanders and won! If Wladimir would have won his fight agains Lamon Brewster a few weeks before their dream would have been on its way to coming true.

Not long after this loss a interviewer asked Emanuel Steward who he believed would be the next big thing in boxing(not the exact words) and he said Wladimir Klitschko. Needless to say the interviewer was surprised considering he just lost, but this shows Emanuel's belief in Wladimir and it looks like Wladimir is living up to what Emanuel said about him.

Since that loss Wladimir's improved his overall ability and hasn't lost a fight. He has had impressive wins over big names such as Eliseo Castillo, Samuel Peter, Chris Byrd(for the IBF belt Wladimir KO'd him), Calvin Brock(serious US heavyweight hopeful), Lamon Brewster in a rematch on July 7th, 2007, and his last fight against Sultan Ibragimov for his WBO title.

In the rematch with Lamon Brewster, Wladimir easily won every round primarily with his impressive jab until the corner through in the towel.

Wladimir won his fight against Ibragimov on February 23rd 2008 at Madison Square Garden. This means he now has 2 major belts, the IBF & WBO, and a minor belt, the IBO. This was the 1st unification of any kind since Holyfield and Lennox Lewis fought in 1999.

In the months prior the IBF sanctioning body had held a tournament to proclaim Wladimir's next opponent. The 1st round had Chris Byrd vs Alexander Povetkin(2004 Gold medal winner @ Superheavyweight) with Povetkin the TKO winner and Calvin Brock vs. Eddie Chambers with Chambers the winner by decision.

In the final between Alexander Povetkin & Eddie Chambers Povetkin won a unaimous decision victory and is scheduled sometime this summer to be the IBF mandatory fight for Wladimir Klitschko.

Wladimir has recently defeated WBO mandatory Tony Thompson by 11th round KO, and is scheduled to face Hasimi Rahman as the IBF mandatory this December 13th as a replacement to the #1 IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin who suffered an ankle injury in training.

Good luck to Wladimir on his mandatory defenses against Hasim Rahman this December 13th.

******more bio to come

Wladimir Klitschko
IBF/IBO Heavyweight Boxing Champ

won 51 (KO 45) + lost 3 (KO 3) + drawn 0 = 53

Birth Date: 1976-03-25
Age: 31
Division: Heavyweight
Rating: 1/1136
Height: 6' 6" (198 cm) *6'6.75" also reported
Nationality: Ukraine
Alias: Steelhammer / Dr
Birth Place: Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
Home Town: Kiev, Ukraine
Trainer: Fritz Sdunek and Emanuel Steward
Manager: K2 Promotions *basically himself
Stance: Orthodox
Weight: 238 lbs (107.954984 kg)
Reach: 79" (200 cm)
Chest (norm): 47" (120 cm)
Chest (exp): 48" (124 cm)
Biceps: 18" (46 cm)
Forearm: 17 1/4 (44 cm)
Fist: 12 1/2 (31 cm)
Wrist: 7 1/2 (19 cm)
Thigh: 22" (59 cm)
Calf: 17" (43 cm)
Neck: 18" (45 cm)
Waist: 34" (86 cm)

There is supposed to be a rematch between former WBA champion Valuev and current WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev because of Valuev mandatory status after defeating Sergei Liakhovich.

I believe if Wladimir were go fight Chagaev that it would be a similar match-up to the fight I saw last night, although I would hope it would have Klitschko releasing his arsenal more. But, if he fought Valuev, at the very least it would be interesting because of the physical attributes. Wladimir is used to being either the taller, bigger, or taller and bigger guy when he fights someone. With Valuev that wouldn't be the case. Valuev is over 300 pounds and over 7' tall. Klitschko's fighting style also takes advantage of his height which he wouldn't have.

This is a fight I'd like to see happen. With Klitschko holding 2 major title belts and 1 minor he should have more negotiating stock to make this happen. Plus after viewing the fight last night, even though I still think Klitschko can pound, someone like Valuev might further believe he could defeat Wladimir thus helping the unification process move along faster.

I think Wladimir would defeat Valuev but it would bring out more of his arsenal than we're used to seeing. Thats what fight fans like myself want to see. We want to see a fighter use his full potential and not just what will win the fight. With Valuev I believe it would be forced out of him due to the size difference.

You can see the full video of the Wladimir Klitscko vs Sultan Ibragimov Weigh-In Here

New Klitschko Blog

Because the main klitschko.com forum is down right before the big fight Saturday February 23rd I felt the need to create a blog for Klitschko fans. If anyone has suggestions on what to add to make this blog better please let me know.

http://klitschkoblog.blogspot.com/

Like This Lens?

Vote 5 stars at the top of this page.