Klitschko Unifies Title

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko defeated WBO counterpart Sultan Ibragimov by unanimous decision to unify the titles Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Standing at 6-6, the 31-year-old 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. 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. 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. In the build-up to the fight, Klitschko had described Ibragimov as "not impressive but very effective," and he seemed intent on emulating his rival. Round seven saw both fighters open up a little, with Klitschko landing a rare big right to the crouching Ibragimov's left temple, while the Russian replied with a clean left to the Ukrainian's ribs. But the pair reverted back to slow mode soon after, and the jeers increased. Klitschko again hurt his opponent with a right hook to the head midway through the eighth and this time followed with another. I

bragimov hit the canvas soon after, although it was due to a push rather than a punch. But at least the boos subsided. Ibragimov, though, had trudged back to his corner and his mood did not improve as the ninth round got underway. Klitschko sprang to life once more, making the WBO champion backpedal to a neutral corner with several combinations that knocked the Russian onto his haunches and between the ropes. Both fighters hit the floor in the 10th round as Ibragimov bundled Klitschko onto his back and landed on top of him. It provoked the most open exchanges of the fight as the champions finally traded blows. Klitschko remained the dominant fighter, however, and again bore down on Ibragimov in the 11th round, picking his rival off intermittently with isolated left jabs and finishing the round by snapping the Russian's head back with a right hook just before the bell. All Klitschko had to do was ride out the final round, but the last three minutes only brought boos back to the forefron