Klitschko Brothers - Their Year- 2008

2008 was a very successful year for the Klitschko brothers Wladimi & Vitali. The year started out in February 23rd with Wladimir capturing the IBF strap to add to his IBO and WBO belts against former IBF heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov. Wladimir won via a 12 round unanimous decision at the Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York.

Then, on July 12th he successfully defended his belts by defeated WBO #1 mandatory contender Tony "The Tiger" Thompson, who previously had beaten Luan Krasniqi, via 11th round spectacular KO.

On October 11th, Wladimir's brother Vitali made an amazing comeback by fighting current WBC heavyweight champ Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter at the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany. He easily handled Peter with his jab and ring generalship until Peter quit on his stool after the 8th round.

With Vitali's win, Wladimir & Vitali Klitschko became the 1st brothers in history to hold simultaneous belts at heavyweight. This itself was the most amazing accomplishment for the year, not just because of the record books, but because this had been such a long awaited dream for the 2 brothers. They came very close to getting their wish back in April 2004, but 4 and a half years later got it anyway.

Finally, on December 13th, as a late replacement to the injured #1 IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin, Wladimir Klitschko defended his belts against former 2 time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. The fight was a no contest from the start with Wladimir easily handling Rahman with his jab, and Rahman finding no answer or plan to get inside. Wladimir had him out by 44 second mark in round 7 for a TKO win.

With these wins Wladimir Klitschko record now stands --> won 52 (KO 46) + lost 3 (KO 3) + drawn 0 = 55 while his brother Vitali stands --> won 36 (KO 35) + lost 2 (KO 2) + drawn 0 = 38.

Congratulations to the Klitschko's on an amazing year in boxing, and we all look forward to another one in 2009. Future potential fights for Vitali include the WBC #1 mandatory Juan Carlos Gomez, and the very vocal former cruiserweight champion turned heavyweight David "Hayemaker" Haye, while Wladimir has potential battles with top ranked undefeated American heavyweight Chris "The Nightmare" Arreola, and IBF #1 mandatory Alexander Povetkin.

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