{mosimage} Well, at least they got the venue right in the latest Heavyweight Boxing title fight that pitted Wladimir Klitschko against Sultan Ibragimov. Add to it the fact that this fight, which served to unify three of the multiple alphabets titles in the boxing world ( the IBF, IBO and the WBO), went the distance and you are almost left with the feeling that heavyweight boxing might just make a comeback in this lackluster post Mike Tyson era. That is, if only the fight had not turned into a bore.

Still, forget the fact that a lot of fans in attendance booed this fight which lack the charisma, as well as the punishing excitement of say an Ali-Frazier bout, after all, you can't really blame Klitschko, the hulking 6-7 fighter from the Ukrainian for that. Klitschko did his part, to easily out boxed his smaller foe, and run his record to 50-3 (with 44 KO's). Yet it would not have hurt his credibility any to try and land a few more serious punches in such a grand event, for few fans want to see a boxer of his stature jab his way to a title, which is precisely what he did.

The Fight:

By rounds four and five, Klitschko actually unloaded some power punches, and he was cruising at this point of the fight. By fights end, the Ukrainian would land 30 power punches to Ibragimov's 5. In the fourth, Klitschko even managed to rock his opponent with the power punches he landed, but that would be the exception, not the rule in this fight.

They could have called the fight after five, for the outcome was not about to change by much, though in the sixth, Ibragimov did manage to work his way inside and get a few shots in to the body of the champion. It was probably enough to finally take a round.

But any momentum that was gained in the sixth was surely lost in the seventh when the fight stalled to a crawl, and the crowd began to express their displeasure for this one-sided tactical bout.

If there was a round to cheer, it would come in the ninth, when Klitschko unleashed a combination of punches that left Ibragimov sitting on the ropes. Yet Klitschko was unable to finish him off. From that point on Klitschko did little but continue to jab his way to a victory. In the end, his jab was so effective that he lands 130 of them to just 30 for Ibragimov.

By scores of 119-110, 117-110, and 118-110, all three judges give the one-sided affair to Klitschko.

Wladimir Klitschko:

So who is Wladimir Klitschko, and how well does he compare to the heavyweight champions of the past? For one, Klitschko might just be the brainiest of heavyweight champions, having earned a PhD in Sports Science at the University of Kiev. As an amateur he took home a gold medal in the Super Heavyweight Division from the 1996 Olympics. Four years later, the boxer nicknamed Dr. Steelhammer, won his first professional heavyweight title when he defeated Chris Byrd for the WBO crown. He would lose the title later to Corrie Sanders in 2003 by TKO in the second round. Meeting up with Chris Byrd again in 2004, he would win the IBF and IBO titles, titles he still successfully defends.

Whether or not his impressive 50-3 record, and three titles, are due to the lack of quality in the heavyweight division, Klitschko has still won 10 title fights during his career, and should begin to merit some consideration as the best heavyweight fighter of his era. One can only hope that is next title defends is a bit less more exciting than his last one.

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