Sultan Ibragimov

Infobox_Boxer
name= Sultan Ibragimov


realname= Sultanahmed Magomedsaliovich Ibzagimov
nationality= flagicon|RUS Russian
height= height|m=1.88
weight= Heavyweight
birth_date= Birth date and age|1975|3|8|mf=y
birth_place= Tlyarata, Soviet Union
style= southpaw
total= 24
wins= 22
KO= 17
losses= 1
draws= 1
no contests= 0

Sultan Ahmed Magomedsaliovich Ibragimov [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/06/03/olympics.savon/index.html] ] ( _ru. Султан Ахмед Ибрагимов ; born March 8, 1975, in Tlyarata, Dagestan, Russian SSR, USSR), is a former WBO heavyweight boxing champion of Avar Dagestani descent.

Amateur career

2000 Silver medal as a heavyweight in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Results:
*Defeated Pauga Laulau (Samoa) RSCO-4
*Defeated Jackson Chanet (France) PTS (18-13)
*Defeated Vladimer Tchanturia (Georgia) PTS (19-14)
*Lost to Félix Savón (Cuba) PTS (13-21)

2000 Silver medal as a heavyweight at the European Championship in Tampere, Finland.
Results:
*Defeated Primislav Dimovski (Macedonia) PTS
*Defeated Alexander Yatsenko (Ukraine) AB-3
*Defeated Andreas Gustavsson (Sweden)
*Lost to Jackson Chanet (France) DSQ

2001 Bronze medal at the World Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Results:
*Defeated Stephen Reynolds (Ireland) RSC-2
*Defeated Kubrat Pulev (Bulgaria) PTS
*Lost to Odlanier Solis (Cuba) PTS (13-23)

Professional career

On July 28 2007, Sultan's record became 19-0-1 when he fought to a draw with Ray Austin in a grueling 12 round IBF heavyweight title eliminator.

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 heavyweight title on March 10, 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.

Ibragimov, improved his record to 21-0-1, after beating Shannon Briggs by unanimous decision and capturing the WBO heavyweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey on June 2, 2007. On October 13, 2007, Sultan Ibragimov won his first title defense against Evander Holyfield by unanimous decision [ Daily Telegraph Issue No.47,327 (Friday 3rd August 2007)Holyfield steps back into the ring Article by Gareth A. Davies ] for the WBO heavyweight title at Khodynka Arena in Moscow, Russia. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2958364 ESPN - Holyfield replaces Chagaev as Ibragimov's opponent - Boxing ] ]

Ibragimov fought Wladimir Klitschko on February 23, 2008 at Madison Square Garden. This fight was a unification bout laying the two fighters' IBF, IBO, and WBO titles on the line. This was the only title unification since 1999 when Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield fought. He was defeated by Wladimir Klitschko by way of a unanimous decision.

Trivia

* He is only the fifth southpaw heavyweight champion in history. [ [http://www.wbaonline.com/news/news030707a.asp Chagaev Vs. Ibragimov heats up ] ] The others are Michael Moorer, Corrie Sanders, Chris Byrd, and Ruslan Chagaev.
* Sultan's cousin, Timur Ibragimov, is also a heavyweight professional boxer. However, Sultan fights for Russia, while Timur represents Uzbekistan. [ [http://www.boxinginsider.com/news/stories/146258129.php Q&A Timur Ibragimov: "I am the best."] ] [http://www.mma365.com/interviews/sultan_ibragimov.html]

References

External links

*
* [http://boxing.about.com/od/records/a/ibragimov.htm Sultan Ibragimov Fight-by-Fight Career Record]
* [http://www.boxen-artur.de/eng_page_ibragimov1184 Boxing-Encyclopedia]
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=txholyfieldtitle&prov=st&type=lgns]