WBO Mandatory Opponent For Wladimir Klitschko

Since Wladimir defeated Sultan Ibragimov he now has the WBO Heavyweight belt to go along with his IBF & IBO belts. Because of this there is a mandatory fight for the WBO organization against Tony Thompson. Believe it or not, his nickname is "The Tiger". Honestly, I don't know alot about this guy, but I do know his record is pretty solid with 31 wins with only 1 defeat and 19 KO's. His most notable opponents were Timur Ibragimov, who is NOT the younger, taller, cousin to Sultan Ibragimov which many say he is, and Luan Krasniqi. You check out Tony Thompson's boxing record here.

Here's the videos of him fighting Timur Ibragimov & Luan Krasniqi:

Tony Thompson vs. Timur Ibragimov Part 1:



Tony Thompson vs. Timur Ibragimov Part 2:



Tony Thompson vs. Luan Krasniqi Part 1:



Tony Thompson vs. Luan Krasniqi Part 2:

Wladimir Klitschko On Morning Talk Show

*This occured right after Wladimir's win over Sultan Ibragimov and is now the WBO, IBF, & IBO Heavyweight Champion of the World...

Emanuel Steward Interview after the Wladimir Klitschko Sultan Ibragimov Title Fight February 23, 2008

Wladimir Kiltschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov IBF, WBO, IBO Title Unifcation February 23rd 2008 Weigh-In

Wladimir Klitschko vs Sultan Ibragimov Post Fight Press Conference WBO, IBF, IBO Unification Fight Part 2

Wladimir Klitschko vs Sultan Ibragimov Post Fight Press Conference WBO, IBF, IBO Unification Fight Part 1

Fight I'd Like To See -- Valuev vs Wladimir Klitschko

*This was originally posted on the Wladimir Klitschko Squidoo Lens Here

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.

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

Wladimir Klitschko Unaimous Decision Win Over Sultan Ibragimov!

This was originally posted on the Wladimir Klitschko Squidoo Lens Here

*February 23, 2008 Madison Square Garden Heavyweight Championship Boxing*

Last night at Madison Square Garden Wladimir Klitschko won a unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov. The fight started off very slow, with the 1st round having hardly any punches thrown. Wladimir kept stepping on Sultan's feet because of the nature of their respective stances of orthodox versus southpaw.

To sum it up Sultan fought defensively in his southpaw stance the whole night with a slight lean to make it harder for Wlad to land on him without stepping in. Wlad never stepped in as he stayed at a distance and used mostly his jab the whole fight. By the last few rounds 9 and beyond, and possibly under the advice of his trainer Emanuel Steward, Klitschko started pouring it on more than he was. He had what I would consider a knockdown in one these last round where the only thing supporting Sultan from falling was the ropes. He also had a couple other good exchanges.

To Sultans credit he did go 12 rounds with a guy who had one of the best KO percentages and did get in some good body shots, but it wasn't nearly enough to win any round in my opinion other than round 1 and possibly 6.

I have to admit I believe that the jab would be important and there might have been a possibility that this fight would go 12 rounds, but I was disappointed after watching the fight and realizing that Sultan did not even belong in the same ring with Wladimir and Wlad didn't capitalize on this and go in for the kill. I believe even in the 1st round Sultans constant pawing where Klitschko would knock down his arm each time was a sign that Sultan was hesitant and scared and was not trying to trick Klitschko (even if he was I don't think he has enough power to hurt him). If Wlad would have jumped on him then and fired ANYTHING I think the fight would have ended fast.

To alot of fight fans his stock drops for his reluctance to mix it up. I am a little biased since I'm a Klitschko fan and saw this as a good technical win, but even considering that I still was a little disappointed that he could have disposed of Sultan much quicker.

Despite this I congratulate Wladimir on his win. He now has the IBO, IBF, and WBO championship belts, which means his stock has gone up to other belt holders.

Quick Wladimir Klitschko Bio

* from the Squidoo Lens @ http://www.squidoo.com/wladimirklitschko

Wladimir Klitschko was born on March 25, 1976 in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. A former WBO champion, Klitschko currently holds the IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles. His elder brother, Vitali Klitschko, is a former WBC heavyweight champion. Wladimir is 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 he still has today and has improved him. In this fight due to mysterious circumstances he again tasted defeat. I say mysterious because he was winning the fight handily for the 1st few rounds when Wladimir began to show signs of physical weakness. To Lamon's credit he sensed this and came on strong, and ended up with the win. There are articles on the net that discuss the strangeness of this bout and you can do some research to find out what I mean by "odd".

Not to say any loss is an excitement but this in my opinion, if not Wladimir's as well, his most disappointing loss. The reason being that it has always been the brother's dream to each have a world title simultaneously and Vitali later that month 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 came 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), and his last fight Lamon Brewster in a rematch on July 7th, 2007.

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

Wladimir's next fight is against tough WBO(the same strap Wladimir used to have) champion Sultan Ibragimov, and it should be a great fight with 2 different styles and body types in the ring. This is the 1st unification of any kind since Holyfield and Lennox Lewis fought in 1999. Good luck to Wladimir, and good luck to his brother Vitali on his comeback!

Wladimir Klitschko On Conan O'Brien

I just found out that Wladimir Klitschko is supposed to be a guest on Conan O'Brien for the February 21st, 2008 episode. Other guests include Barbara Walters & Black Mountain(I believe they are referring to the indie-rock band). I already like Conan O' Brien so this should make an extremely good episode.


** The following is an addition to a previous post*****

I recently found the actual video of the Conan O'Brien episode in which Wladimir made a guest appearances. Copy and past the link to the address bar if it doesn't take you to it...



If that doesn't work you can go to the AOL version of the video here

Vitali Klitschko Awaits Maskaev/Peter Winner

*This is from a post I did @ http://www.squidoo.com/vitaliklitschko

On November 5, 2005 Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement. Later, the WBC later awarded Vitali "champion emeritus" status which basically entitles him to mandatory challenger to the WBC Heavyweight championship should he decide to return. He originally left due to injuries and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine.

On January 24th of 2007, he announced his comeback and desire to fight for world title. At the time Oleg Maskaev was the WBC champion beating Hasim Rahman on August 12, 2006 via 12th round knockout. This was the 2nd time in his career Maskaev defeated Rahman. His 1st from 1999.

It should be noted that Hasim Rahman was scheduled to face Vitali Klitschko for his WBC belt but as mentioned earlier Vitali retired giving Hasim Rahman automatic WBC champion status without even a fight!

To make a long story short two other fighters, Samuel Peter & James Toney had just got done fighting two matches with Peter the victor in determining his own status as mandatory challenger to the WBC title. So there was a conflict. Much time went by eventually Vitali agreed to be the mandatory challenger of Sam Peter vs. Oleg Maskaev, which was supposed to originally happen on October 6 2007 but is now scheduled for March 8, 2008. Oleg Maskaev himself had an injury so that was the basis of that fight being canceled with Peter vs. Mccline happening instead. Vitali himself was supposed to fight Mccline on Septermber 22nd 2007 as a tune-up match but again there was physical issues from Vitali that caused that fight not to fall through.

Vitali is reported to be in great health now, since undergoing operations on his back. He's been training and is eying the outcome of Maskaev vs Peter in March. It should be noted that if for some reason Peter gets injured there is a possiblity Vitali might be the replacement come March 8 for the title.

Good luck Vitali on your return.

Wladimir Klitschko Scheduled To Fight Sultan Ibragimov on Sat. February 23rd

*This is from a post I did on my Squidoo Lens @ http://www.squidoo.com/wladimirklitschko

This is the 1st title unification since 1999, although its not encompassing all four of the main sanctioning bodies it is involving the IBF, which is held by Wladimir, and WBO, which is held by Sultan Ibragimov, belts. It should also be noted that Wladimir Klitschko also carries the IBO strap although it isn't considered amongst the big 4 sanctioning bodies.

I feel the physical advantage is definitely going to Wladimir since hes over 5 inches taller than his opponent along with his reach advantage. Hes also weighs more than Ibragimov and hes a lean 243-250 pound guy whereas Ibragimov is a little softer at his weight. So when you take that into consideration it makes the weight advantage even greater.

Now as far as experience, again Wladimir wins hands down. They both share an Olympic medal, but Wladimir has a Gold in 1996 in the SuperHeavyweight Division, while Ibragimov a Silver in the 2000 Olympics in the Heavyweight Division. Wladimir has had 52 fights as a professional whereas Sultan Ibragimov has had less than half as many at 23 total fights.

The quality of oppostion also goes to Wladimir. Wladimir has fought Francois Botha, Lamon Brewster, Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, Lance Whitaker, Monte Barrett, Charles Shufford, Jameel McCline and Samuel Peter as his main opposition and Sultan has fought Evander Holyfield, Shannon Briggs, and Lance Whitaker.

I would say the speed and variety of boxing skills would go to Ibragimov, but it should be noted that the things that Wladimir does do (jab, cross, & left hook mainly) he does exceptionally well and because of this I'd even say that Wladimir has BETTER boxing skills than Ibragimov and the speed isn't that far behind. I dont' think Wladimir has as good of a "inside game" as Ibragimov but then again he doesn't necessarily need it because of physical and clinching abilities.

As far as power and stregnth this would also go to Wladimir. Besides being physcially big Wladimir also has plenty of explosive power.

In my opinion this fight will go about 6 rounds with a TKO win for Wladimir. I say this because Wladimir is going to respect Sultan but will eventually catch up to him around round 4 or 5 and since Sultan wants to win so badly he'll continue to fight even if he shouldn't and thus the TKO.

The fight will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 23rd, and you can call these numbers for tickets: (917) 939-5199 (212) 465-MSG1

Good luck to Wladimir on his upcoming fight!

My Squidoo Lens On Wladimir Klitschko

I created a Squidoo Lens on Wladimir Klitschko. I created it for the same reasons I put together this blog. You can visit my Squidoo Lens on Wladimir Klitschko Here.

Tell me what you think about it and feel free to share any comments or suggestions.

Wladimir Klitschko Vs. Sultan Ibragimov

I feel Wladimir shouldn't have any problems in his fight this Saturday against Sultan Ibragimov. I don't think Wlad is taking him lightly and has been training hard at his temporary gym at the PGA National Golf Resort in Florida. I see this fight going pretty much the same as the last Chris Byrd fight. Ibragimov will try very hard and it will be hard for the 1st couple round for Wlaimir to get off his punches but around rounds 4 thru 6 he'll start to get to Ibragimov with a KO around round 6 or 7.

Welcome

Hi, my name is Brandan. Due to the recent shutdown of the forum on the klitschko.com website I decided it would be beneficial to create a place where people can go to discuss klitschko matters. I'm sure there are many people, especially since Wladimir's fight agains Ibragimov is coming up this Saturday(February 23rd), who have something to say. It should be noted that I was a member of the klitschko.com forum (superman3) but didn't say a whole lot. But I did go into the forum quite a bit to read other peoples posts. I miss being able to do that. So, with that being stated, I hope others will add to this blog/forum to make it much more than it is and maybe make this a close substitution to the forum that was/is on the klitschko.com site. Thanks,

Brandan