Sultan Ibragimov

Despite the draw against Ray Austin, Ibragimov received a title shot from another sanctioning organization, the WBO. He was scheduled to challenge Shannon Briggs for the WBO world heavyweight title on 10 March 2007, but because Briggs became ill with pneumonia, Ibragimov instead faced Javier Mora at Madison Square Garden in New York on that date. Ibragimov knocked out Mora 46 seconds into the first round. This win broke the record for the quickest knockout in a main event bout in Madison Square Garden, which was previously held by Lee Savold who defeated Buddy Walker in 1948.[6]

Prior to facing Briggs, Ibragimov changed his training camp, having joined Jeff Mayweather. Under Mayweather, Ibragimov moved away from his aggressive volume-punching fighting style, instead trying to adapt the more defensive style known as "Philly Shell".[6] Ibragimov eventually faced Shannon Briggs for the WBO world heavyweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey on 2 June 2007.[7] Ibragimov was 52 pounds lighter than his opponent coming into the bout.[8] With the exception of an early and late pressure by Briggs in round one & twelve, rounds two to eleven were mostly controlled by Ibragimov, out-boxing his larger opponent with fast combinations. Ibragimov won the fight by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 119–109, 115–113 and 117–111.[7]

On 13 October 2007, Sultan Ibragimov won his first title defense against the aging former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield by unanimous decision[9] at Khodynka Arena in Moscow, Russia.[10]

By the end of October 2007, Ibragimov started negotiations with then-IBF world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko about the unification showdown in the near future. This would be the first heavyweight unification fight since November 13, 1999 when WBC champion Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield who was WBA and IBF champion at the time.[11][12] On November 20, Klitschko and Ibragimov officially signed the contract for their unification clash to take place on February 23, 2008 at Madison Square Garden.[13] Two days later in Moscow, a first pre-fight press-conference was held.[14] Klitschko began his preparations for the fight on 18 December. His training camp was located between Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Palm Beach, Florida.[15] Ibragimov began his preparations for the bout on 25 December. Among Ibragimov's sparring partners were Klitschko's former opponent Jameel McCline and Swedish heavyweight prospect Attila Levin.[16][17]

In the pre-fight prediction, a vast majority of Ukrainian, Russian and American observers expected Ibragimov by either stoppage or unanimous decision. Out of six journalists of the Ukrainian magazine Ring, five predicted Klitschko to stop Ibragimov, with only one expecting Klitschko to win by decision. Only two of 26 members of boxingscene.com expected Ibragimov to win by decision. Two of the 12 members of ringsidereport.com picked Ibragimov to win by stoppage, with one of them saying that Ibragimov was more resilient psychologically and could withstand Klitschko's power.[18] In the build-up to the fight, Klitschko's trainer Emmanuel Steward said that Ibragimov was going to be Wladimir's toughest opponent to date, praising Ibragimov for his hand speed and mobility, while Klitschko complimented Ibragimov on his accomplishments: "Sultan Ibragimov is a boxer that hasn't lost in any of his 23 fights, with the sole draw being against Ray Austin. His amateur career can be described as fantastic, and the fact that he's the heavyweight champion of the world speaks volumes about his professional career as well. I think he's a strong and dangerous opponent that should not be underestimated. His last two fights against Shannon Briggs and Evander Holyfield proved that."[19] Ibragimov's trainer Jeff Mayweather was confident that Ibragimov would be able to establish his rhythm and "press Klitschko to the corner".[20] The pre-fight build-up was marked with controversy after Ibragimov's manager Boris Grinberg insulted Klitschko during one of the interviews: "Sultan Ibragimov knocks out this Ukraine gay, motherf***er!". Grinberg later apologized to Klitschko.[21] The day before the bout, Ibragimov weighed in at 219 pounds (99 kg), his lightest since 2005,[22] while Klitschko's weight was 238 pounds (108 kg), the lightest since 1999.[23]

From the opening bell, both fighters fought tentatively, avoiding risks. Klitschko retreated onto the outside, fighting at a distance and remaining unattainable for Ibragimov who tried to establish his right jab but had his right hand constantly pushed down by Klitschko. By the end of the opening round, Klitschko became more active with his jab, while Ibragimov unsuccessfully tried to catch Wladimir with a series of right and left hooks. By the third round, Klitschko took control of the center of the ring, keeping Ibragimov at the end of his left jab and occasionally throwing right jabs as well.[24] In the fifth round, Ibragimov was caight with a straight right hand, but was not hurt. Most of Ibragimov's attempts to close the distance ended with him being tied up by Klitschko. In the second half of the fight, the situation did not change, with Ibragimov being kept at the distance with straight shots, while being only able to occasionally catch Klitschko with single shots to the body. Ibragimov's corner was almost silent from the sixth round onwards, unable to give their man any meaningful advice.[25] Klitschko's dominance became even more visible after he caught Ibragimov with a straight right in round nine, almost knocking him down. Ibragimov was caught again with a counter left hook in the at the end of the eleventh. The twelfth round saw Ibragimov unsuccessfully trying to catch Klitschko with overhand shots. Ultimately, the fight went the distance, with Ibragimov losing the fight by unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 119–110, 117–111 and 118–110.[26][27][28]

In February 2009 there were rumors about Ibragimov's retirement from boxing following his loss to Wladimir Klitschko,[29] which were later confirmed in July 2009.[30][31] Ibragimov remains one of only five heavyweight champions, alongside Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano, Riddick Bowe and Nicolai Valuev to have never suffered a stoppage defeat.