Wladimir Klitschko relentlessly pounded a straight, hard jab into Sultan Ibragimov's face for 12 rounds on his way to a unanimous decision. The three judges scored the fight 119-110, 117-111, and 118-110. Suite 101 scored it 117-111.
Ibragimov, a 6'2" southpaw, concentrated on staying outside of the 6'6" Klitschko's range, and buggy whipping left hands to the bigger man's body, though with limited success. The tall Ukranian's left jab found a willing target in Ibragimov's fairly stationary head. Curiously, Ibragimov chose to circle to his left, toward Klitschko's powerful right, although, just as curiously, Klitschko rarely threw it.
By round three, Ibragimov still hadn't found a way inside, and the Garden crowd jeered the lack of action. The fighters stepped up their efforts in the middle rounds, leading to exchanges that showcased Klitschko's marked advantage in strength and the straighter vector of his punches.
Though Klitschko couldn't manage to knock out his smaller opponent (219 lbs to Klitschko's 238), he clearly dominated Ibragimov, who is thought of by many boxing websites, including Suite 101, to be the best opponent Klitschko has faced to date.
Klitschko's record improves to 50-3 with 44 KOs while the Russian Ibragimov suffered his first professional loss and drops to 22-1-1 with 18 KOs.
Ostensibly, Alexander Povetkin's recent victory over Eddie Chambers gives him the fast track to a shot at Klitschko, who, although he isn't a holder of all the major belts, is commonly thought of as the man to beat in the heavyweight division. With Klitschko's win over Ibragimov, he adds Ibragimov's WBO belt to the IBF and IBO hardware he already possesses, which is information reserved for those who think such things still matter.
The other heavyweight belt holders are Ruslan Chagaev (WBA), and Oleg Maskaev (WBC). Maskaev is scheduled to face Nigerian wrecking ball, Samuel Peter, on March 8.
If these prominent heavyweights cross paths this year, as seems likely, 2008 will be the year that gives boxing its first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis retired with all the bling around his waist after beating Klitschko's older brother, Vitali, in June 2003.
At 31-years-old, the younger Klitschko is in the midst of his heavyweight prime and should be able to assert his control of the division for several years, much like Lewis did before him. Though the Garden crowd was clearly dissapointed in the fight's lack of action, future opponents of Klitschko, who are closer to the straight-ahead style that magnifies the big man's strengths, will erase the memory of a single dull fight in New York.
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