Wladimir Klitschko blamed his rival Sultan Ibragimov’s defensive style for producing a disappointing fight on the night he was proclaimed the first unified heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
The IBF heavyweight titleholder, Klitschko defeated WBO counterpart Ibragimov by unanimous decision to unify the titles Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Standing at 6-6, Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) used his four-inch height advantage over Ibragimov (22-1-1) to maintain control over a majority of the contest. The 31-year-old received scores of 119-110, 117-111 and 118-110 for the victory.
It was the first unification contest the heavyweight division has seen since 1999, when Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield here.
But it otherwise was a night to forget as the Ukrainian Klitschko and Russian Ibragimov plodded through a dreary contest punctuated only sporadically by significant moments of action.
“Ibragimov didn’t do much to engage in the fight,” said Klitschko, who also holds the lightly regarded IBO title. “I’m happy to have three belts and to get the WBO belt back, as it was the first belt I had.”
While agreeing with his fighter about Ibragimov’s style, trainer Emanuel Steward believed Klitschko also could have contributed more.
“Wladimir could have thrown more punches, but I’m not disappointed because Ibragimov is a very difficult fighter because of his style,” Steward said. “Wladimir said Ibragimov kept leaning back, and that was why he was having trouble going after him. He’s a very difficult guy to fight, very careful.”
Klitschko kept Ibragimov at arm’s length throughout the opening rounds, patting down the Russian southpaw’s leads while throwing only occasional left jabs of his own. The tactics soon began to wear thin on many of the 14,011 fans in attendance as sporadic boos rang out around the arena.
Even trainer Emanual Steward was urging his pupil on in the later rounds to put more pressure, despite the fact that Klitschko was winning the fight. Because Steward understands that many times its not just enough to win the fight, but its how you win the fight.
Within the fantasy league there was one person who seemed to have saw the fight before the rest of us. Tnap predicted a decision win for Dr. Steelhammer and had this to say:
"I think Ibragimov after tasting a sample of Wlad's power will not take any chances which he must do if he has any hope of winning the fight. I see wlad keeping him on the end of his jab firing the occasional right and settling for a onesided decision. Only hope IGGY has is to fight at a far high tempo hoping Wlad gets tired."
Which basically sums up the fight, and makes him the Oracle Of the Week!
Ibragimov claimed he was just as frustrated with Klitschko throughout the fight.
“He didn’t jab, he chopped and grabbed throughout the fight,” Ibragimov said. “I didn’t see his right hand until the last two rounds. I wasn’t hurt during the fight, but I did feel he was winning.”
Below is a list of everyone who got the extra Fantasy points by predicting a decision win for Klitschko. Congrats to all of you. The next fight wont be so easy to call. Marquez vs Vazquez 3 is running so get your prediction in early.
| Username | Record | Prediction | | tnap | 4-1 ( 0 KOs ) 86 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Swodogg | 4-1 ( 0 KOs ) 86 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Everlast21 | 4-1 ( 0 KOs ) 84 points | Klitschko - Decision | | badintentions | 4-1 ( 0 KOs ) 84 points | Klitschko - Decision | | socalboxer | 4-1 ( 0 KOs ) 84 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Hurricane_Bebo_Bitchez | 3-2 ( 0 KOs ) 64 points | Klitschko - Decision | | JMoran80 | 3-2 ( 0 KOs ) 64 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Bellchees | 3-2 ( 0 KOs ) 62 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Endovelico | 3-1 ( 0 KOs ) 64 points | Klitschko - Decision | | hbk900 | 2-3 ( 0 KOs ) 44 points | Klitschko - Decision | | thatboyelite | 2-3 ( 0 KOs ) 42 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Akay | 2-2 ( 0 KOs ) 44 points | Klitschko - Decision | | Ogichidaa | 2-2 ( 0 KOs ) 42 points | Klitschko - Decision | | t bone | 2-1 ( 0 KOs ) 42 points | Klitschko - Decision | | ddd11111 | 2-0 ( 0 KOs ) 44 points | Klitschko - Decision | | SA1 | 2-0 ( 0 KOs ) 42 points | Klitschko - Decision |
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