Klitschko dominates heavyweight unification fight
NEW YORK -- Wladimir Klitschko is one belt closer to being the undisputed heavyweight champion after an indisputably dominant victory.
Far too strong and much too long, Klitschko barely took a punch while winning a unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov on Saturday night, defending his IBF title and claiming Ibragimov's WBO belt in the first heavyweight unification fight in nearly nine years.
"I'm happy to have three belts," said Klitschko, who also holds the IBO title. "I'm happy to get the WBO belt back. That was the first title I had."
Klitschko, the chess-playing Ph.D. from a famed Ukrainian fighting family, used physics and simple geometry to remove nearly all risk from his meeting with Ibragimov, the previously unbeaten Russian underdog.
The 6-foot-7 Klitschko is at least a half-foot taller and 20 pounds heavier than Ibragimov, who constantly appeared to be flailing against a mean-spirited older brother.
With little more than an insistent jab, Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) slapped and herded Ibragimov around the ring in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd of 14,011 filled with Russians who whistled and booed during the frequent stretches of inaction.
"He was very difficult to fight," Klitschko said. "He kept backing off. He's very careful, but the result counts."
Ibragimov (22-1-1) constantly strained to launch punches too small and slow to find their mark, and Klitschko appeared fresh and mostly unmarked at the final bell -- even ready to go another 12 rounds with WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev, WBC champ Oleg Maskaev or contender Samuel Peter, the next opponents on his quest for heavyweight unity.
Klitschko is determined to bring order to boxing's fractured former glamour division by winning every major title. He appeared capable of the task in the most significant heavyweight fight in several years, winning his eighth straight bout and asserting his pre-eminence atop a division that has lacked an eminent champion since Lennox Lewis' retirement.
Klitschko dominated nearly every round but did little significant damage until the eighth, when he staggered Ibragimov with a big left hook. Ibragimov slipped to the canvas later in the round, and Klitschko battered Ibragimov into the ropes early in the ninth.
"I thought he was a lot faster than he was in his last few fights," Ibragimov said. "My plan was to work on being more active and come straight forward, but of course it was tough. This guy held a lot."
Don Ackerman scored it 119-110 for Klitschko, while Chuck Giampa saw the fight 117-111 and Steve Weisfeld favored Klitschko 118-110. The Associated Press also scored it for Klitschko, 119-109.
Klitschko landed 44 percent of his 245 jabs, according to punch statistics that improbably credited Ibragimov with 81 power punches. Ibragimov landed just 97 total punches, while Klitschko averaged just 29 punches per round.