IBF Approves Klitschko Mormeck

Current WBO/IBF/SUPER WBA/IBO/RING heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 49 KO's) rescheduled his fight with former cruiserweight champion turned heavyweight contender Jean Marc Mormeck (36-4, 22 KO's) on March 3rd at the ESPIRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.  The only problem was the date rescheduled for was the same time period the IBF had issued Wladimir to defend against a mandatory opponent. The IBF has stated recently that due to the circumstances with Wladimir's kidney stone condition they have approved Wladimir's defense against Mormeck and gave him an extension to face the mandatory Tony Thompson. So the fight will go as is without any repercussions.

Vitali Klitschko To Face Chisora

WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko 43(40) - 2 will defend his title against Britain's Dereck Chisora 15(9)-2 on February 18th at the Olympic Hall in Munich, Germany. Chisora lost his last fight by controversial decision in a fight many including myself thought he won. Wladimir was supposed to face Chisora last year but had to pull out due to a abdominal injury so this will give Chisora a chance to finally face a Klitschko.

Klitschko Quotes

"I'm warned by his excellent performance against Helenius and will, as always, prepare myself intensely and meticulously."

"Chisora showed in his last fight, which he lost unfairly, that when his opponents are much bigger he can fight well on the inside."

"I will take warning from his excellent performance against Helenius and train intensely and meticulously as always. I won't let all his talking affect me, however."

Chisora Quotes

"Wladimir Klitschko did not fight me but now I'm going to get the championship belt by beating his older brother."

"I'm going to show Vitali Klitschko that his time has expired and send him into retirement. When his younger brother then wants a fight against me then I'll be ready to bring all the championship belts to London."

Chisora vs Helenius Highlights

Klitschko Mormeck Rescheduled For March 3rd

Due to complications from kidney stones, WBO/IBF/IBO/SUPER WBA/RING heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko could not defend his belts against Jean-Marc Mormeck this Saturday, December 10th.  But, Wladimir says he is still going to face Mormeck, and the bout has been rescheduled for March 3rd at the same arena:  the ESPRIT Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Where To Watch Klitschko vs Mormeck

This is where you will find up-to-date information regarding where to watch the WBO/IBF/IBO/WBA/RING heavyweight championship bout between current champion Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 49 KOs) and former cruiserweight champion turned heavyweight contender Jean Marc Mormeck (36-4, 22 KOs) on March 3rd at the ESPRIT Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Where to Watch Klitschko vs Mormeck In The US

EPIX AND EPIXHD.COM will show the fight at 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT Direct link to event on EPIX HERE.

Where to Watch Klitschko vs Mormeck In The UK

Sky Sports will air the fight in the United Kingdom.

Where to Watch Klitschko vs Mormeck In Most of Europe

The German channel RTL will air the fight and to my understanding many countries will also get the coverage.

Where to Watch Klitschko vs Mormeck Streaming

Check back on fight day -- also view chat on side for updates -->

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If anyone has any additional information or corrections please comment!

Thompson vs Chambers For Klitschko's Mandatory

WBO/IBF/WBA/IBO/RING heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitcshko will face the winner of Tony Thompson (36-2, 24 KO’s) and Eddie Chambers (36-2, 18 KO’s) when they fight in a IBF eliminator bout on October 28th.

Wladimir has fought both fighters before and has defeated both by knockout. It will be interesting to see if either will have any better success this time around. Chambers has only fought once since being knocked out by Wladimir against Derric Rossy whom he beat before and defeated once again, and Thompson looked pretty good in his last outing against Maurice Harris whom he beat in the 3rd round...

Klitschko Adamek Undercard

This is where you will find up-to-date information on the undercard for the WBC heavyweight championship fight this September 10th between current champion Vitali Klitschko and former light heavweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek.  The fight will take place in Wroclaw, Poland.

		cruiserweight	Pawel Kolodziej	SC	Ola Afolabi	12
		cruiserweight	Mateusz Masternak	SC	TBA	10
		heavyweight	Andrzej Wawrzyk	SC	Devin Vargas	10
		middleweight	Maksym Bursak	SC	Daniel Urbanski	10
		welterweight	Sadam Ali	SC	Boris Berg	8
		middleweight	Mariusz Cendrowski	SC	Anton Sjomkin	8

Come back for more updates..

Klitschko Haye Is On For July 2nd

It's official, the WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) will have a unification fight on July 2nd with WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s).  The highly anticipated fight will take place at the 57,000-capacity Imtech Stadium, in Hamburg, Germany. HBO has announced that they will show this fight and overseas the fight will be shown by RTL in Germany and Sky Box Office in the UK. More information to come....

Klitschko To Face Adamek In September

It's official. One of the Klitschko, Vitali (41-2, 38 KOs) or Wladimir (55-3, 49 KOs), will face former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion turned heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek (43-1, 28 KOs) this September.

The deal assumes at least one the Klitscho's win their next fights (Wladimir will face Dereck Chisora on April 30th while Vitali faces Solis on March 19th ) and Adamek wins his next fight which will be against an opponent yet to be named on most likely April 16th or 19th. If both brothers win they will decide which one of them will face Adamek, but both sides have said if that were the case it would most likely to be Wladimir.

The fight will take place at a new soccer stadium being built in either Warsaw or Wroclaw, Poland. There are 4 new stadiums being built in Poland for the 2012 European Soccer Championships and that two of the stadiums are bidding for this fight.

Kathy Duva Quotes

**Main events CEO

"I am ecstatic. I can't even put it into words. To work so hard with Tomasz with a goal in mind -- moving him up to heavyweight, getting a heavyweight title fight. We got him there and we got a good deal."


**Regarding the stadiums being built in Poland

"There is this window of opportunity for this fight because of the stadiums being built in Poland. It will be a huge event in Poland."

** Regarding Adamek not facing Samuel Peter as a tune-up (he was originally going to fight in a IBF tournament to announce the new IBF mandatory and face Peter).

"That's a pretty good bet." -- laughing

**On which brother he'd rather face..

"Either one, their option. We don't care which one it is. They have to tell us something like 90 days before the fight which one it will be. Tomasz's attitude is, 'I want a heavyweight title fight. I don't care which one of them I fight.'"


**On how long it took to negotiate

"It took us less than three weeks to get this done. Everybody had the same objective -- to make the biggest, best event we can and everybody make the most money we can. We're very excited. This has been the plan for the 2½ years we've worked with Tomasz. This has been the goal and game plan. I'm happy it all came together and we are happy with the deal."

**On the issue of Haye and the Klitschko's going back and forth on deals

"I didn't have any of the problems other people talk about. I've had a long relationship with [Klitschko adviser] Shelly Finkel for something like 30 years and that probably helped. But when the time came to talk to Bernd, we were in synch right away. I know how to get a deal done. I didn't have any problem with them at all. And I had a fighter who said, 'This is what I want, please go out and get it.'"

Bernd Boente Quotes

**Klitschko's manager

"We made some changes, their side and our side. We now agree on everything. We have a go from both sides for a fight in September."

**On Klitschko's winning their next fights


"Knock on wood, both brothers win their respective fights and then we will make a decision."

Vitali Klitschko vs Solis Is Set

WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will defend his belt on March 19th against 30 year old Cuban Odlanier „La Sombra“ Solis on March 19th at the LANXESS Arena in Cologne, Germany.

Solis was the Olympic gold medalist in Athens 2004 and had a amazing amateur record wtih 241 fights and 227 wins.  He was also 3 time world amateur champion and became the WBC #1 contender and Vitali's official mandatory when he defeated Ray Austin in the title elimination bout in Miami on December 17 by 10th round disqualification.

Should be an interesting fight.  I just dont think Solis will have what it takes when it his later rounds.  His conditioning is not great and his talent has carried him by the likes of guys like Austin, but at the elite level its going to effect him drastically. Look for a late round stoppage for Vitali.

Klitschko Chisora On Again

WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will follow through with his fight he had to cancel at the last minute (scheduled back in December) do to abdominal injury against Derick Chsora on April 30th.

Chisora Quotes

"This news is a fantastic late Christmas present. "I always believed that I would fight Klitschko and my faith has been repaid.

"I was a bit worried that he might try and fight an easier touch, but I think I've earned my opportunity.

"I was gutted when Wladimir pulled out of our fight just a couple of days beforehand. But now I've got another chance to take his titles away.

"He's a great world champion, but his time at the top is well and truly up.

"My promoter Frank Warren has done a great job in getting me this opportunity because there was no guarantee Wladimir would fight me again after he got injured."


Here are some videos related to the rearranged Klitschko Chisora fight...

Craig Slater On Re-Arranged Klitschko/Chisora Fight

Don Charles On Rescheduled Klitschko/Chisora Fight

Frank Warren On New Klitschko/Chisora Deal

Where To Watch Klitschko vs Briggs

The WBC heavyweight championship fight between current champ Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KOs and Shannon Briggs (51-5, 45 KOs) this Saturday, October 16th can be seen in Germany on RTL. In the US espn3.com will broadcast at 5pm EST in HD and rebroadcast the following day at 4.30 EST on ESPN’s main channel.

Primetime will show the fight live out of the UK in Pay-Per-View -- you can also watch the fight online stream there as well. Go here to order the fight if you are out of the United Kingdom.

If there are online streams available information will be posted here, and if anyone has additional information where you can watch this fight elsewhere please comment.

Klitschko Chisora Is On!

It's official current WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will make a voluntary defense December 11th fight against the British and Commonwealth heavyweight beltholder Dereck Chisora at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany.

Klitschko Quotes

“I know that Dereck Chisora is a very dangerous opponent. He’s young, he’s fast and he’s a very hard puncher. My coach, Emanuel Steward, has warned me about Chisora and reminded me about the great Muhammad Ali, who lost his championship in 1978 to Leon Spinks in his eighth professional fight. I definitely will not underestimate Chisora and will prepare myself as intensely as I always do and try to give Chisora no chance. The atmosphere for all of my fights in Mannheim has been great and I will always remember the SAP Arena where I won my second world championship against Chris Byrd. That is one of the highlights of my career.”

In Germany, the fight will be shown live and exclusively on RTL. SKY will broadcast the bout PPV live.

Wladimir Klitschko Vs TBA On December 11th

Looks like Wladimir Klitschko is not wasting any time on in his next fight and is staying busy with a to be announced opponent on December 11th, which is just 3 months from his last fight on September 11th where he defended against IBF mandatory Samuel peter.  He has both mandatory obligations fulfilled for the IBF and WBO organizations so this will be a voluntary mantch-up.

Who will be his next opponent?  Well a few names are being considered including Dennis Boytsov, Tomasz Adamek, Odlanier Solis, David Tua, and Jean Marc Mormeck.

I think the best fight out of those choices would be against Adamek.  I would definitely stay away from Tua, although that would make a good voluntary fight for Vitali.  It would be 2 fighters not in their prime fighting.  Wladimir needs to fight an up-and-coming fighter in my opinion or someone new to the heavyweight division making noise like Adamek.

 Who do you think his next opponent should be?

Klitschko Briggs Press Conference

Today was the press conference in Kiev, Ukraine for the WBC heavyweight championship between Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KOs) and former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs (51-5-1, 45 KOs) ahead of their fight on October 16th at the 02 World in Hamburg, Germany. Ticket information, pictures, and video coming soon!

Vitali Klitschko Quotes

I am very glad that the first press conference is here in Ukraine. Thank you to everyone, to TV channel Inter. I know that many fans want to see the fight between Vitali Klitschko and Nikolay Valuev. I have done the utmost to make this fight take place. I have offered big money, but Valuev called it ‘insignificant.’ I’ve offered the fight for the title WBC, but for him it probably means nothing. Believe me, I am not guilty that he doesn’t want to fight me. Always it is possible to find the reasons why this fight hasn’t taken place. I offered the fight to David Haye, but he is silent, he is afraid to fight me. We thought, who the strongest opponent who can resist me? Peter will fight Wladimir on October 16th, and we have chosen Shannon Briggs. He’s one of the most serious contenders for the world championship. His record of fights demands respect. I know that for me it’s a serious fight. I know that only Vitali Klitschko can beat Vitali Klitschko. I’m very proud to own today the belt which Mike Tyson, Lewis and Ali owned, and I will make sure this belt remaines with me. I will give everything in this fight to come out again the winner.

Shannon Briggs Quotes

I want to begin that I am very happy to be here, in Kiev. Unfortunately, at the airport of Kiev I have found out that they lost my luggage, therefore I to wear what I wore yesterday. I don’t have other clothes. Yesterday went to shop, good shopping, beautiful women. Ukraine is the beautiful country. Many beautiful women. I wanted the Klitschko-Briggs to take place in Ukraine, but we are forced to fight in Germany. I hope that the rematch will be here in Kiev. Once again I want to say thanks to all of you. My dream has come true. Three years ago I planned to leave boxing, seriously considered this after the defeat against Sultan Ibragimov. I weighed 334 pounds. Once in Los Angeles I met Vitali at a restaurant. He has touched me in the stomach and I resolved that I would return. It was not necessary for Klitschko to touch me. I am the former two-time world champion. I beat George Foreman. I have the most first round knockouts in the history of the heavyweight division. I am the first world champion in boxing history with asthma. I’m grateful to Vitali for the opportunity to again sit on the throne.

Bernd Boente Quotes

** Klitschko’s manager


We are very glad to be here at this big press conference. This very big show for us. You know that Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko’s last three fights have taken place at big stadiums to Germany. And we will try to bring a big fight for the Klitschko brothers before the Euro 2012 football championship in Ukraine. We know that in Ukraine the economic situation is not the best, but it gets better every year. And we hope to have a big fight at a football stadium in Kiev or in Donetsk. Vitali is a living legend, one of the few who became a triple world champion. It is assured that he’ll be in the World Boxing Hall of Fame. And he has the biggest percentage of knockouts in the history of heavyweights. But as I told both Vitali and Wladimir, it’s impossible to underestimate Briggs because he’s very dangerous and very strong. He beat George Foreman, Ray Mercer, Siarhei Liakhovich. I warned Vitali that he needs to be very careful in the ring. This fight won’t last twelve rounds. All media are interested in this fight. This fight will be seen live in the USA, Germany, Ukraine, we already know that 93 million spectators will see this fight because it will be broadcast in 110 countries worldwide.

Greg Cohen Quotes

**Briggs' manager

First I want to thank the Klitschko Team for making this fight. We very much respect Vitali and we know that he could have chosen any boxer. He chose Brigss and that is a great honor to us. We’ve been with Shannon from first day of his career. We’ve neem with him through victories and defeats and are glad to fight for a new heavyweight title. I should say that I’ve never seen Briggs so motivated in his entire career. It’s his last chance and we will try to use this opportunity. On October 16th Briggs will be prepared as much as possible to become the world champion. In a ring there are two big men with the big power to sort out who will be the champion. This fight just what the fans have waited for. My company is very happy about this fight and I think that on October 16th, he will show everyone what Shannon Briggs is capable of.

Klitschko Briggs Press Conference Video

*Not the whole press conference

More Klitschko Briggs Press Conference Video Footage

Klitschko Briggs Is On!

Its official. WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko  won 40 (KO 38) + lost 2 (KO 2) + drawn 0  will face former champion Shannon Briggs  won 51 (KO 45) + lost 5 (KO 2) + drawn 1  on October 16th at the O2 World Arena in, Hamburg, Germany. This will be the 1st time Vitali has fought in city he and his family moved to in 1996 and he is excited about fighting there again.

Vitali Klitschko Quotes

“I am really happy that I will have a fight in Hamburg again, the place where I started my professional career. The o2 World is a great arena and the fans in Hamburg are real box experts and will make a perfect atmosphere. Shannon Briggs is not only big at talking but also big in the ring and a very tough challenger. He is more experienced than me, has more professional fights on his record and is one of the hardest punchers in the division. I will be very well prepared together with my trainer Fritz Sdunek.”

Shannon Briggs Quotes

“For a long time I have been trying hard to fight a Klitschko. Most of their opponents are scared to death when they step into the ring. I will put Klitschko on pressure and take the fight to him. Klitschko can enjoy his belt for a few more weeks; after October 16 it will be mine!”

Bernd Bönte Quotes

** Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group (KMG)

“This is going to be a dramatic fight between two of the biggest punching heavyweights. We are glad that this fight will take place in Hamburg. Last time Vitali fought here the o2 World Hamburg did not even exist. It will be a great fight night in a fantastic arena.“

Klitschko Briggs In October?

Word has it according to BILD that the current WBC heavyweight champion will defend his titles on October 16th at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany against former champion Shannon Briggs. The fight is supposed to be officially announced later this month.

Vitali Klitschko Quotes

“Briggs is a very strong challenger. I will prepare myself very intensely for him with my trainer Fritz Sdunek. He has many more professional fights than me and is one of the hardest punchers!”

Klitschko Peter 2 Is Official!

Its official.  Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs)  will defend his belts and will count as a IBF mandatory when he rematches Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) this coming September 11th in Frankfurt, Germany.  Peter signed the contract at the Top Rank headquarters today in Las Vegas and will leave this weekend to attend a press conference in Germany next week.

Wladimir Klitschko Quotes

"Peter was one of the toughest fights of my career, he is an extremely hard puncher and has improved a lot in his last fights. I know what to expect on September 11 and I will be well prepared..”

Sam Peter Quotes

"I had to wait a long time for the rematch. Now I will finish what I missed five years ago. This time I am going straight in and take him out. It’s not going to last real long.”

Bob Arum Quotes

"Peter came close last time. This time he has the experience that if he gets Klitschko in trouble again, he can finish him," Arum said. "If Peter happened to upset Klitschko that would really start a lot of talk in the heavyweight division."

Ivaylo Gotzev Quotes

*Peter's manager

"We're going [Thursday] morning to sign. We're good to go. My prediction has always been the same if we got a rematch. This time we're going to finish the job and not leave it to the judges' scorecard. We are going into the lion's den to take him out."

Bernd Boente Quotes

*Klitschko's manager

"This is a very interesting fight especially with the history of the first one in 2005. By the way, we have already sold 15,000 tickets in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt without an opponent."


Let's hope this opponent actually shows up for the press conference!

Steward Discusses Povetkin Backing Out Of Klitschko Fight

Hall of fame trainer and trainer of current WBO,IBF,IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, Emanuel Steward had a few words on the pullout of Alexander Povetkin and a replacement fight with the next highest IBF available opponent Samuel Peter.


On Wladimir Klitschko’s recent switch in opponent from Alexander Povetkin to Sam Peter:

“Well I was kind of prepared for that. I have never believed that Povetkin was going to fight Wladimir, just not as bad as David Haye. So we were prepared and I told Wladimir to be prepared about two weeks ago that he might have to fight Sam Peter and also that they should contact him to see if he was available, because I had a feeling that this was going to happen.”




On whether he blames Teddy Atlas for Povetkin pulling out of the fight:

“Well he’s been consistent. From day one Teddy has never said that he thought his fighter was ready. If you read between the lines in all of the interviews that he did, he was always consistently just speaking in general like how you have to train a guy this way, you have to be prepared, people have to find themselves. He never did speak with any strong conviction that he felt that his fighter was ready. He feels that he needs more time. He was put in that position because the fighter was already in the mandatory position when he became involved with him. If he hadn’t been, he probably would have never pushed for him to be in that position. So he did what he thought was best and I respect it and I respect the fact that the IBF is going along with that. After two years he has shown no real desire to step up and take advantage of his position. They have decided to move on.

So everything is sorting itself out so to say, and you can’t make a guy fight that doesn’t want to fight and it’s very difficult to promote a fight when you have one guy who’s prepared and another guy who really seems sort of reluctant to participate and promote it and everything else. We have to move on to Sam Peter and I think it’s going to be an interesting fight because Sam didn’t look that great in some of his fights after the first fight with Wladimir. But his last fight, which I think was in Texas when I was down there doing the HBO broadcast, everyone said he looked fantastic just due to the fact his weight is down. Maybe with a different trainer, I think he’s working now in Big Bear and having a whole different attitude about everything. Just the fact that his weight is down you know he’s taking it more seriously. That’s one of the complaints always was his conditioning. And he is a puncher so nevertheless, we’re not going to be relaxed. The first fight had enough drama to last me a lifetime with Wladimir down three times and then in the twelfth round Sam Peter was out on his feet. So we’re not going to take the fight lightly because he is a puncher. We figure Peter to be a much more dangerous puncher than Povetkin.”

On what he believes will be the major difference in the rematch between Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter:

“That was the breakthrough fight for Wladimir Klitschko. That was the fight after he had been stopped twice and he had a fight with DaVarryl Williamson where he looked not that impressive. He went down in that fight even though he won a technical decision because of a cut. His brother had like given up hope on him and most of the people in his camp, and it was just he and I for the most part. That was apparent for the Sam Peter fight. It was a fight where, for the first time, he actually barred his brother from coming to a training camp. They had been training together all of their careers. It was because of the lack of confidence and the negative vibes that everyone had going into that fight.

He could have chosen an easier fight, but he ask who was the best fighter out there that could give him credibility back after being stopped by Brewster and barely getting by with DaVarryl Williamson and having been stopped by Sanders. I said “Well the most dangerous guy is Sam Peter”. So that’s what he wanted. That was the make or break fight that he said would put his career back on track or he could have picked a safe bout. So going down two times in the fight early, which they weren’t really clean knockdowns, but I looked at the expression on his face and it was like psychologically he wasn’t hurt but he was just totally confused and disappointed in himself. When he came back at the end of the round he was surprised by how cool I was, because I saw he wasn’t hurt. So I spoke to him very carefully and told him he was boxing at a distance where he could get caught with those clubbing punches and that he needed to be all the way back or if he got in too close to just tie him up and never allow him at that halfway distance where he could get clubbed. He said, “Okay” and if you watch the fight, before the bell rang for the next round after he had been down twice, he was the one in the center of the ring waiting on Sam Peter.

That was psychologically a tough fight for him. The last knockdown, I think was the tenth round, which we both consider was a true knockdown but he came back and had Sam out on his feet in the twelfth round so that was like the turning point in his entire boxing career in that fight. Since then I think he’s progressed tremendously and gone to another level to become one of the probably most respected and maybe on his way to becoming one of the top fighters in heavyweight history. Meanwhile Sam has been going back and forth and probably aside from his last fight hasn’t been that impressive. So it’s going to be interesting to see what happens because we still don’t know what the psychological affect will be on Wladimir. Whether this time he wants to go out and prove that he’s the best heavyweight, and this is a good chance for him to fight a guy who just recently fought the other heavyweight that everybody considers maybe the best which is a guy named Vitali Klitschko.

This will be a very good comparison point for the public to judge between the two heavyweight champions and the two brothers. For that reason, I think Wladimir is going to try and put on a very impressive performance and I don’t know if Sam’s going to be able to hold him off if Wladimir comes in with that attitude. Wladimir is one of the most devastating one-punch boxers in heavyweight history. He’s not the type of guy who wears you down. He can turn out the lights with one single punch. Sam Peter said he’s going to pick up where he left off, that’s what Wladimir told me—where he left off the last fight by knocking him down. I said, “Well Wladimir, you have to pick up where the fight actually finished up in the twelfth round where you almost had him out with the left hook”. It will be I think an explosive fight because of the emotions with Wladimir trying to prove something and Sam realizing this is his big shot right now. It’s going to be an interesting fight between punchers for a change.”

His thoughts on Sam Peter’s comments from earlier in the show when Peter had words for Wladimir stating, “Be ready because it’s going to be a short night”:

“I think it will but I think he’ll be on the short end of it, but that really means that he has tremendous confidence in himself now and I think that’s good.”

Klitschko Povetkin OFF

Looks like the September 11th IBF heavyweight mandatory fight between current IBF, IBO, WBO, and Ring champion Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin is officially off. The IBF has confirmed this and Povetkin will be removed from the IBF top ten and has stated that Wladimir will now face the top available opponent on September 11 in Frankfurt, which is expected to be Sam Peter. They are in negotiations as we speak. Stay tuned for more information.

Bernd Bonte Quotes

* Klitschko's manager

“We’ve started negotiations with Top Rank for Sam Peter as the next available opponent for the mandatory."

Klitschko vs Povetkin September 11th

It's now official that the WBO,IBF,IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) will defend his titles against the IBF #1 mandatory contender Alexander Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) on September 11th at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, which will have a capacity of 54,000. The Commerzbank-Arena is the home of German soccer team Eintracht Frankfurt.

Klitschko Quotes

"Alexander Povetkin is a very strong opponent. We are both Olympic Champions, which stands for itself. It will be a very tough fight, but I have no doubt that I will keep my titles. In the beginning of my career, I fought in Frankfurt twice and won. Now, I am looking forward to fighting in this fantastic stadium in front of a great audience..”

Povetkin Quotes

I had to wait pretty long for this chance and will now get Klitschko’s belts. Right now, I am training in the US with ten sparring partners, among them former world champions. This is the biggest fight of my career and I will be better prepared than ever before. Now it is my time, I am the future of the heavyweight division.”

Bernd Bönte Quotes

** Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group (KMG)

"The Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt is a gigantic stadium and I am very glad that we will have this top fight in this venue. Together with the management of the arena and our TV partner RTL we will arrange an unforgettable fight night.”

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On paper this is a intriguing matchup with 2 former Olympic superheavyweight champions (Wladimir 1996 and Povetkin 2004), with Povetkin having no losses and Wladimir being a dominant champion. But, in all reality Povetkin isn't really a superheavyweight like Wladimir is. Wladimir is the bigger man. A much bigger man who is in much better phsyical shape than Povetkin ever has been. He knows how to keep his distance and can hit an opponent with either hand with superior force. Alexander Povetkin unless something changes drastically with defense is going to be a sitting duck to the overhand right of Wladimir's. I don't see this fight going past 5....