Klitschko Decisions Ibragimov for 2nd Belt

by Dave “Large” Larzelere
Wladimir Klitschko found very little resistance in Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden tonight, coasting to a unanimous decision to take Ibragimov’s WBO heavyweight belt and add it to his own IBF version of the heavyweight crown.
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In a fight that was often more tactical than might have been expected from two men with well-known knockout power, Klitschko won the first half of the fight with his sledgehammer left jab and then began in the seventh to measure his trademark straight right with accuracy. However, he was much more careful with the right than he has been in the past, which seemed to be a concession to Ibragimov’s powerful overhand left. For his part, Ibragimov was only able to land one punch effectively on the night, a counter left hook to the body that had next to no impact on Klitschko’s rhythm.
On the final scorecards, Klitschko threw a near shutout, with the three judges seeing it 118-110, 117-111 and 119-110.
Although it was a dominant victory for Klitschko, it wasn’t a fight that won over the packed house at the Garden. There were several choruses of boos and whistles during the inactive first six rounds, and the boobirds started up again in the final rounds when Ibragimov clearly was out of gas and staying away from Klitschko’s charges. The Garden crowd also booed Klitschko in his post-fight interview in the ring when HBO’s Max Kellerman said that Wladimir was regarded as the best heavyweight fighter in the world.
Despite the boos, however, the large contingents of both Ukrainians and Russians made for a boisterous atmosphere, one that was buoyed by the customary pack of celebs and athletes that generally pack the Garden for heavyweight bouts, Christie Brinkley, Will Ferrell and Brooke Shields among them, along with a posse from the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants that included Plexico Burress and Michael Strahan.↵