Posted at 7:53 a.m., Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Boxing: Klitschko fights Ibragimov to unify two titles
Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany — IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBO titleholder Sultan Ibragimov will fight Feb. 23 in Madison Square Garden to unify two of the four heavyweight world titles.Regarded by many as the best of the current heavyweights, Klitschko (49-3, 44 knockouts) tops the independent IBO rankings. Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 knockouts) pounded out an unanimous decision against Evander Holyfield last month.
MSG president Steve Mills and Klitschko's management confirmed the fight Tuesday.
Holyfield lost heavyweight boxing's last unification fight in 1999, dropping his WBA and IBF belts to WBC champion Lennox Lewis. The current fractured state of the title in boxing's marquee division is blamed in part for a slide in the sport's popularity.
The other two heavyweight champions are Ruslan Chagaev of the WBA and Samuel Peter of the WBC.
