Recalls key fights in the career of one of the best boxers of two decades.

Chris Bird, Cologne (Germany), 2000

Vladimir Klitschko had his first really big fight on October 14, 2000. His opponent, 30-year-old American Chris Bird, had defeated Vladimir’s brother, Vitaly, six months earlier and taken the WBO world champion title from him. Klitschko Jr. managed to avenge his older brother. The Ukrainian, who was 24 years old at the time, confidently won on points.

The first half of the fight passed with varying degrees of success, but by the later rounds Klitschko's advantage became obvious. In the ninth and 11th rounds, he knocked down the world champion, which predetermined the judge's decision. This victory brought Vladimir his first world title and universal recognition. Six years later, he once again beat the already well-worn Byrd.

Corrie Sanders, Hannover (Germany), 2003

Klitschko lost the title he won in a fight with Bird three years later - in a fight with South African Corrie Sanders. Vladimir was such an obvious favorite that the underestimation of his opponent was evident in the comments of the fighter himself and his team. As it turned out, it was in vain. Already at the end of the first round, Sanders knocked down Klitschko, then another. After the gong, bewilderment and even panic were visible in the Ukrainian’s eyes.

In the second round, Sanders continued to dominate. He dropped Klitschko two more times and left the referee no choice but to record a technical knockout. Vladimir received an extremely sensitive blow to his pride and reputation. That was probably the first time people started talking about his “glass chin.”

Lymon Brewster, Las Vegas (USA), 2004

On April 10, 2004, Klitschko lost to American Lymon Brewster (this was his third defeat). That fight became one of the strangest in Vladimir’s career. He dominated the first four rounds, winning each one comfortably, but in the fifth, something went wrong. The 28-year-old athlete suddenly began to lose strength. Experienced Brewster sensed this and immediately seized the initiative.

By the end of the round, there was a beating going on in the ring; the judge scored the Ukrainian a standing knockdown. At the same time as the gong, Klitschko collapsed exhausted along with the judge, and he decided to stop the fight, recording Vladimir’s second defeat in a year by knockout. After that, Klitschko did not lose for 11 years, and in 2007 he took revenge on Brewster.

Sultan Ibragimov, New York (USA), 2008

On February 23, 2008, Klitschko came out against Russian world champion Sultan Ibragimov. The fight took place in New York and aroused great interest among Russian and Ukrainian media. It was the first heavyweight unification bout in nine years, but the boxers did not live up to public expectations.

Klitschko confidently used his jab and kept his opponent at a comfortable distance the entire time. Ibragimov, noticeably inferior in size to his opponent, could not reach the goal. By the middle of the battle, the dissatisfied audience began to whistle. By the end of the fight, the Ukrainian’s advantage became even more obvious, and at the end of 12 rounds, the judges gave the victory to Vladimir by unanimous decision.

David Hay, Hamburg (Germany), 2011

Klitschko Jr. entered another unification fight in July 2011. His opponent was the high-status Englishman, WBA world champion David Haye, who had recently won. All boxing fans were eagerly awaiting the fight; interest in it was fueled by the “trash talk” that Haye was actively involved in. However, the fight did not live up to expectations.

The Briton, contrary to promises, did not move forward, but only occasionally threw single blows and maneuvered. Haye sat down on his knees more than once, hinting at dirty boxing performed by Klitschko, but the referee did not appreciate the Briton’s acting skills and counted him down. In an absolutely unspectacular fight, the judges unanimously gave victory to the Ukrainian. After the fight, Haye tried to justify his passivity by an injury received in training.

Alexander Povetkin, Moscow (Russia), 2013

In October 2013, Klitschko arrived in Moscow to fight Alexander Povetkin. This fight was talked about on every corner of the Russian capital; such excitement on the eve of a sporting event had not been seen for a long time. The battle itself, alas, did not correspond to the status of “battle of the decade.” Povetkin, despite the support of the spectators at the Olympic sports complex, could not do anything with Klitschko, who was superior in size and class.

Alexander constantly tried to break into close range, but he was unable to do so due to Vladimir’s effective jab. The Ukrainian clinched a lot and fired at Povetkin from a distance, which brought him victory in each round. The Russian suffered several knockdowns during the fight and lost with a crushing score. After the fight, Klitschko took the microphone to thank the Moscow crowd, but was booed.

Tyson Fury, Dusseldorf (Germany), 2015

In November 2015, Vladimir Klitschko went to fight Tyson Fury. The Briton of Irish descent, like no one else, knows how to stir up interest in himself, which is what he did for several months before the fight. Klitschko tried to compete with Fury in “trash talk”, but was not very successful in this.

In the ring, events developed as follows. By the age of 40, Klitschko had noticeably lost his sharpness and often could not keep up with the maneuvers of the huge Briton. Fury turned out to be one of Vladimir’s first opponents, surpassing him in height and arm span. Despite this, Klitschko did not change his usual tactics and worked mainly with a jab. By the middle of the fight, it became obvious that this style was not bringing results. Fury playfully avoided his opponent's attacks and successfully counterattacked.

A few rounds before the finish, Vitaly informed his brother that he was losing on points, but Vladimir could not change anything. Only in the last round did he launch a desperate attack, but it was too late. Fury won the fight by unanimous decision, inflicting Klitschko's first defeat in 11 years and stripping him of all his championship belts. Thus ended the Klitschko era.

Anthony Joshua, London (UK), 2017

Klitschko had a chance to turn back the clock in April of this year. The 41-year-old boxer came to visit the London 2012 Olympic champion, who had never lost in the professional ring. The 27-year-old Briton is a new generation boxer: a pile of muscles, a terminator, capable of knocking out at any second.

Klitschko was not afraid of this challenge and was close to victory. The fight turned out to be one of the most entertaining in the heavyweight division in many years. In the fifth and sixth rounds, the opponents exchanged knockdowns, with the Ukrainian knocking down the second opponent. Then it seemed that the experienced ex-champion would not miss his chance and would “eat” the young Briton, but that was not the case. In the 11th round, Joshua finally reached his opponent's jaw with his right hand and shook him severely. Klitschko did not give up, continued to fight and maneuver, but Anthony was too strong. He dealt blow after blow and finally finished off the Ukrainian, winning by technical knockout.

The rivals were close to revenge. The re-fight was scheduled for November 11 and was supposed to take place in Las Vegas, but on August 3, Vladimir decided to retire. Over 20 years in professional boxing, he won 64 victories (53 by knockout) and suffered five defeats. Not everyone liked Vladimir's style - often too cautious, but it is impossible not to give him credit. Vladimir was a dominant force in world boxing for over 15 years, making him one of the best fighters not only of his era, but in the entire history of the sport.

What kind of boxer will we remember the outstanding athlete who announced his retirement?

Ukrainian ex-world champion, Olympic champion (here there is no “ex-”, this is a lifelong title) Vladimir Klichko leave the sport.

For many years, “Doctor Steel Hammer” reigned in the heavyweight division, and did not collect all four main heavyweight belts in his collection for only one reason: one of them (according to the WBC) was owned at the same time by his older brother, Vitaly.

How will we remember boxer Vladimir-Klitschko? NewsOne looks back at the Ukrainian's 10 most iconic fights in the ring – both triumphs and defeats.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, America, Vladimir won the gold medal in the heavyweight division. In the final, the Ukrainian won against the representative of exotic Tonga Paea Wolfgram.

Klitschko Jr. had his first fight in the professional ring in November 1996. The debut was super successful: Mexican Fabian Meza was knocked out in the 1st round!

Only once out of 69 cases did Vladimir Klitschko fight in front of his home audience, in Kyiv. And it turned out to be a fiasco - knockout in the 11th round from a little-known American Rossa Puritty. Vladimir lost for the first time in his career in his 25th fight, and did not fight again in Ukraine.

On October 14, 2000, Vladimir fought for the WBO world title for the first time (in his 36th fight!). And he got it by defeating the American Chris Bird.

3 years later, during the 6th defense of the WBO champion belt, Vladimir unexpectedly lost to the South African Corrie Sanders. The Ukrainian was poisoned before the battle (they talked about sabotage), and was not like himself. The result is a knockout in the 2nd round!

Vladimir regained the title of world champion (according to IBF) in 2006, knocking out the same Chris Bird(a lucky opponent, for Vladimir, of course). And he didn’t give up the title for 9 long years!

In 2008, Klitschko, who held the IBF belt, fought his first unification fight against Sultana Ibragimov, WBO champion. This was the first heavyweight unification fight in 9 years!

The result is a victory for the Ukrainian on points.

Finally, in 2011, after winning on points over the British David Hay, Klitschko Jr. took the WBA, WBO and IBF world champion belts into his hands.

Fight against Tyson Fury in the fall of 2015, he actually broke the career of Vladimir Klitschko. The Ukrainian underestimated the silly (at the time it seemed only in appearance) Briton, and lost 3 of his championship belts on points.

The rematch with Fury was postponed three times while Tyson became addicted to alcohol and cocaine. They did not take away all the belts he took from Klitschko. For 2 of them - WBC and IBF, Vladimir fought last spring in London at Wembley Stadium against the young Olympic champion of 2012 Anthony Joshua.

Klitschko was close to victory when he knocked down his opponent in the middle of the fight, but ended up being knocked out himself in the 11th round.

After the defeat from Joshua they went on, even the place (Las Vegas, USA) and date (November 11, 2017) were named. But this fight will not happen now. There will be no more fights involving Klitschko. There is no need to be sad, he had a bright career, with victories and defeats. The first ones happened more often - we will remember them.

At the Moscow Olympic sports complex, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, an event took place that experts and boxing fans, without exaggeration, called. Two famous heavyweight boxers fought in an irreconcilable and extremely principled fight: Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko and Russian Alexander Povetkin.

At stake in this boxing match, which attracted about 14 thousand spectators in the stands and millions of fans on television in dozens of countries around the world, were championship belts in four prestigious versions WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF. The Russian Knight made a daring attempt to take them away from the youngest of the famous Klitschko brothers, and also defended the title of regular WBA world heavyweight champion.

Vladimir Klitschko entered the fight against Alexander Povetkin to the song Can’t Stop by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, although Doctor Steel Hammer will enter the ring to the song with the symbolic name “Brother for Brother” by the Ukrainian rock band Kozak System.

Both boxers are Olympic champions. Vladimir Klitschko celebrated his victory in the weight category over 91 kg at the Games in Atlanta in 1996. And eight years later, in 2004, Alexander Povetkin took gold in Athens.

The fight in Moscow, in which the bookmakers gave the victory to the 37-year-old Ukrainian, lasted all 12 rounds and ended with Vladimir Klitschko’s raised hand; he won on points by a unanimous decision of the judges. It is worth noting that already in the first round Povetkin found himself on the floor for a moment.

Thus, Vladimir Klitschko had 64 fights in the professional ring, having already won 61 victories (51 of them by knockout), without losing for more than nine years. World champion and European champion Alexander Povetkin in the “professionals” did not know the bitterness of defeat before meeting the formidable Ukrainian. The Kursk native now has 26 wins and one loss in 27 fights, 18 of which were won by knockout.

Such issues, of course, cannot be resolved quickly. There are a huge number of satellites orbiting the large box, and the specific gravity of each of them must be taken into account. Sports, finance, PR, marketing and even politics are an explosive mixture. It should be handled with extreme care.

So the problem Klitschko“will keep the public on a short leash for a long time, warns AiF.ru. Don't even doubt it.

Pros and cons

“I never thought about stopping, not once after losing and losing my belts. As long as I stay in shape and as long as I have motivation, I will continue. You will still see several big, spectacular fights with my participation,” Vladimir Klitschko made this statement at the end of 2016. It would seem that its content leaves no doubt that the 41-year-old boxer is not going to leave the ring in the near future. However, two defeats in a row (his previous title fight was against the British Tyson Fury in November 2015 - Klitschko lost by unanimous decision) force us to examine this issue more meticulously.

On the one hand, 41 years old for professional boxing is still quite a working age, allowing one to claim the most serious titles. On the other hand, history refers to a number of cases where the comebacks of great champions actually erased their brilliant previous achievements. This long line includes even such great champions as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

“It feels like he can box for another ten years,” says Klitschko’s sparring partner Ismail Sillah.“I don’t know what’s inside him, whether he’s tired of boxing, but we discussed this with his coach, and he also noted that Vlad is only going up. It's funny, but when Ali boxed at 32 with Foreman, they said that he was already a veteran. And now Hopkins at 50 he gets into the ring... I think if Vlad is not tired, then physically he can still box for a long time.”

But here is another point of view, taking into account not only age and physical parameters. Famous Russian coach Alexander Zimin believes that Klitschko is no longer able to compete with young boxers: “It’s not just about physical fitness. In the face Joshua Vladimir faced a new generation of professionals, whose fighting style is strikingly different from the classic one. “Classical” Soviet boxing, which Klitschko masterfully masters, teaches caution. “Feel” your opponent, do not succumb to provocations and do not unnecessarily risk getting hit. This is a smart approach that allows you to save energy and catch your opponent in a mistake that will happen sooner or later. But, as they say, there is no trick against crowbar. Boxing, which brought Joshua two championship belts and which is now becoming a standard among the pros, is inferior to the classics in technical beauty: it has less of a game component, fewer tactical maneuvers. But this is exactly the kind of boxing that attracts stadiums: when the fighters do not dance, avoiding a blow, and do not “fence”, a sports match becomes a real fight.”

Maneuver or lose

As a matter of fact, Klitschko found himself in exactly the same situation after the fight with Fury: Should I leave or stay, demanding legal revenge? This question has haunted the world of professional boxing for a long time. Klitschko eventually challenged Fury; a new fight for the IBF, WBO and WBA championship titles was scheduled for September 2016, but in the summer, information came from Fury’s camp that the boxer had suffered an ankle injury. Later, the dates of the battle were shifted again, now for an indefinite period. With the wording “for medical reasons.”

The British tabloid The Mirror, meanwhile, reported that Fury’s doping test contained traces of the anabolic steroid nandrolone, and in October 2016 the Briton voluntarily renounced all his titles due to the inability to defend them (reasons: depression and drug problems).

Will Klitschko risk repeating the maneuver and challenging Joshua to a rematch, putting everything on the line? Or, for example, he will make a knight’s move, “giving” the Briton the titles he honestly won and encroaching on the WBO belt, which is now owned by a 25-year-old New Zealander who is not as dangerous as Joshua Joseph Parker?

Another option is not to exercise the right of revenge, but to have a farewell fight with an opponent who is obviously weaker, and leave the big ring on a relatively positive note. This is quite common practice for modern boxing realities.

Money decides, if not everything, then a lot

It is worth understanding that a rematch with Joshua is not only (most likely, not so much) sport, but also money. Big money. Huge. And whoever says that money plays a secondary role in professional boxing, let him be the first to throw a stone at Klitschko. If you dare, of course.

Vladimir Klitschko is one of the most rated and, accordingly, highly paid athletes of our time, and even one fight he has can provide for Klitschko himself, as well as his family, friends and even friends for the rest of his life. You have to be a complete altruist to refuse such opportunities if there is even the slightest chance of continuing your career.

For example: in November 2015, the title fight with Fury replenished Vladimir Klitschko’s account by $22.5 million. The size of the fee for the just lost fight with Joshua has not yet been made public, but certain parameters of the financial conditions were known in advance. According to data published in the British press, the guaranteed part of the fees for Klitschko and Joshua is $13 million each. In addition, the contract for the fight implies the receipt of bonuses: if sales of paid broadcasts on Sky Sports exceed 2 million units, Klitschko and Joshua could receive an additional 5 to 7 million dollars.

"Old Men" Go to Battle

The dilemma faced by Vladimir Klitschko forces us to take a short historical excursion. There are many cases when great boxing careers continued until a very respectable age. Compared to them, Klitschko Jr. looks like a junior.

Roberto Duran

One of the best lightweights of the 20th century, Panamanian Roberto Duran, nicknamed “Iron Fists,” lasted in the ring for 33 years (1968-2001). The world champion in the lightweight and light heavyweight categories fought his last fight at the age of 50.

Larry Holmes

“The Eastern Assassin” fought in the heavyweight division for 29 years (1973-2002). At full 53, the American entered the battle against Erica Ash and won by decision.

George Foreman

“Big George” won his first professional title at the age of 23, and his last at 45. The American heavyweight, whose experience in the ring reached 28 years (1969-1997), lost his personal final match Shannon Briggs.

Bernard Hopkins

“Executioner” Bernard Hopkins, who turned 52 in January 2017, has not yet announced the end of his professional career, which began in 1988.

The achievements of American light heavyweight Hopkins Klitschko are worth paying special attention to. This guy became the oldest world champion three times in one of the main versions: at 46, 47 and 49 years old. Moreover, a year before his 50th birthday, he unified two championship titles: WBA and IBF.

Evander Holyfield

"Murderer" Mike Tyson last defended his world title in 2011 at the age of 48 years, 3 months and 3 days. In June 2014, he announced his retirement from a career that lasted exactly 30 years.

At the same time, BoxingScene reports that at the end of May 2017, Evander “Lionheart” Holyfield will return to the ring to fight the 65-year-old former governor of the Nigerian state Lagos by Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Of course, this will be an exhibition match as part of a charity event.

Didn't reach it a bit

Vladimir Klitschko continuously held the title of world heavyweight champion for 9 and a half years. This is the second result in boxing history after the legendary American Joe Louis.

• Joe Louis - 11 years, 8 months, 8 days
• Wladimir Klitschko - 9 years, 7 months, 6 days
• Larry Holmes - 7 years, 3 months, 12 days
• Jack Dempsey - 7 years, 2 months, 12 days
• John Sullivan - 7 years, 9 days

Klitschko has 18 successful consecutive defenses of the world heavyweight title. This is the third result in boxing history. Only Larry Holmes (20 defenses in a row) and Joe Louis (25 defenses) defended the belt more consistently than the Ukrainian.

• Joe Louis - 25
• Larry Holmes - 20
• Wladimir Klitschko - 18
• Tommy Burns - 11
• Muhammad Ali - 10
• Joe Fraser - 9
• Mike Tyson - 9
• Lennox Lewis - 9
• Vitali Klitschko - 9

Reference

In world professional boxing, power is shared by 4 organizations, and each of them awards championship belts. All attempts to create a “main office” that would completely control the sport ended in failure.

In 1921, the NBA (National Boxing Association) was founded in the USA, later renamed the WBA (World Boxing Association). In 1963, the World Boxing Council (WBC) was created. In 1983, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) was formed, and in 1988, the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

The Viking invasion from Poland on German soil began at 23:50 Moscow time. At this time, the boxing evening in Germany began. There is less and less time until the main fight.

How many belts do you think there are between Germany and Poland? Any other day you can answer - not a single one, but not today. These two countries are in the same time zone, but in boxing this evening they are separated by as many as five. Wladimir Klitschko defends his titles in a duel against Mariusz Wach. A quarter of a ton of live heavyweight weight in the ring, the threat of the first defeat in the Pole’s career, the threat of the most sensational loss for the Ukrainian - all this today in Hamburg and in every line of the text broadcast of Sovetskysport.

The judges give the victory to Vladimir Klitschko - 120-107, 120-107, 119-109.

Wah-man is still very much ahead of Wah-boxer. It would be hard to blame the Pole for anything other than boxing itself. Wach, unfortunately, did not demonstrate it, but even without blows he managed to surprise those gathered in Hamburg. These blows from Klitschko would have been enough for a legion of Mormecks and several carriages of Thompsons, but it turned out to be not enough for Vakh. When Mariusz adds more rigidity in his punches, puts up a defense and becomes a little more experienced, he will give a great fight, who knows who, but it doesn’t matter. Today he proved that this fight is worth waiting for from him. It's almost a feat to finish the fight with Wladimir Klitschko on your own two feet.

The victory of Vladimir Klitschko does not raise any questions. The Pole can only be given the fifth round.

Round 12. At the beginning of the round, Vladimir landed several powerful blows. There was an opportunity to end the battle ahead of schedule. But Vakh took a breath and leaned on Klitschko and made him fall. It was entirely possible to give a warning; it was not the first time that Vakh acted in a similar way. The fight continued and Vakh survived to the end.

Round 11. The Pole’s legs are already weak and it’s as if weights are tied to them, but he continues to “beat Klitschko’s fists with his face.” Tem was higher at the beginning of the round, but both fighters were tired. It is impossible to maintain a high rhythm.

Round 10. The Pole has an armored skull, and Vladimir seems to have come to terms with this, starting to simply take round after round. Klitschko began to work a little more calmly, not letting his opponent out of sight, but firing a little less often.

Round 9. Wach continues to remain on his feet, despite Klitschko’s blows, and even without seeing them. Vladimir slows down the pace, but still confidently takes the round, especially since his opponent has already stopped responding.

Round 8. Vakh misses brutal blows. The Pole stands with difficulty and is already collapsing. It feels like Vladimir didn’t miss a single blow. Wah is still holding his own in the ring against all the laws of gravity and physics.

Round 7. The fifth round was for Vakh. In it, he landed a good blow to Klitschko's head, but the sixth and seventh rounds did not answer how he managed it. Klitschko once again showed that he is completely superior to his opponent. The Pole barely survived. Wach's wide jaw is easy to hit, but difficult to knock out.

Round 6. But now Klitschko turned on and planted about two dozen jabs in his opponent’s face, ending the round with a dangerous hit from the right.

Round 5. Wow! This is how Mariusz Wach gave the ending: Klitschko misses in the last 15 seconds, the Pole presses him to the ropes and delivers a series of blows, Klitschko does not look shocked, but the gong is clearly for the Ukrainian, and the round is for the Pole.

Round 4. Klitschko's double punches are very dangerous for the Pole. The right hand is the Ukrainian's main weapon. Knowing this, Wach closes every time Wladimir throws a left jab.

Round 3. Vladimir demonstrates his entire class. Klitschko acts quickly, gracefully, powerfully. Wow, like Nikolai Valuev, he is proof that being born big does not mean becoming a great boxer. But the Pole definitely looked better in the third round than in the first two. And yet, all the rounds are still in the hands of the Ukrainian.

Round 2. Vakh demonstrates some wrestling techniques, but cannot yet impose it according to boxing rules. And yet the Pole hit several times well and even caught Vladimir with a right cross.

Round 1. Wah looks disgusting in the first round: Swiss cheese in defense and doomed during attacking actions. Klitschko does not need reconnaissance at all and attacks very powerfully, hitting the target with both hands.

02:15. Wow, higher than Klitschko, we remind you.

02:13. Here we go!

02:12 . The commentator recalled that Wach is taller than Klitschko, Stallone hit the camera lens, Michael Buffer is gradually starting to wind up - less than five minutes before the start of the fight.

02:09. The Polish anthem is shown by Mariusz Wach, and, you know, he doesn’t yet look like a man who is destined to do the impossible in the next hour.

02:07. And now comes the entrance of Vladimir Klitschko, who is mentored by Sylvester Stallone from the big screen TV.

02:05. But now Vakha has been announced, and he goes into the ring.

02:03. Michael Buffer announced... Sylvester Stallone, the famous actor, gladly climbed into the ring.

02:00. We were shown some interesting production that referred to the movie “Rocky”; people living east of the Moscow time zone were probably very happy.

01:55. Preparations begin for the main fight of the evening.

01:50. Came in time from Germany.

01:40. While the main event of the evening (night, morning, day) is being prepared, we suggest you remember everything that happened the day before.

Vladimir and Mariusz recently measured... glances.

Before this there was a weigh-in for boxers. Klitschko - 112 kg, Bakh - 113.8 kg

01:35. We still have to wait until the main fight of the evening. Therefore, Russia-2 decided to show another undercard fight - Tony Harrison - Daniel Urbanski. The American won the six-round fight.

01:30. So, the judges' decision is a draw. In the last rounds, Yatskevich snatched this result.

01:25. In the last rounds, Yatskevich was much stronger than the Englishman. But Godding's advantage had been too great in the previous rounds, and the Pole clearly lacked the strength to make a decisive attack.

01:12. Godding looks better, as do his stats heading into this fight. 18 matches and 18 victories. Although only three of them were knockouts, so get ready to see all rounds of the fight. Yatskevich has 42 wins (21 by knockout) and 10 losses (by knockout).

01:10. The 5th round of the Godding - Yatskevich duel ended in the ring. The latter disguised his hand with tattoos and now it blends in with his shorts. But this still does not help the Pole.

No, this is not Vladimir’s last fight. The brothers signed a contract with television for four more fights, in addition to this fight.

00:52. At an open training session, the Polish boxer followed in the footsteps of David Haye. Vakh simply “beat” Vladimir, not himself, only photographs of the Ukrainian.

It should be noted that the Pole acted much more humanely than the Briton. He did not “cut off” his opponent’s head.

00:50. Commentator and expert of the German channel RTL Tobias Drews shared his expectations from the fight: “Who will win? I think Klitschko will knock out Wach in the 10th round. I think Wach will be cautious until about the fourth round, then he will move forward.” The odds for these rounds are 2.55.

00:45. Let us note that all bookmakers on the eve of the main fight of the evening unconditionally believed in the victory of the Ukrainian boxer. William Hill and Unibet accepted bets on Klitschko with odds of 1.03, and Bet-a-Home -1.01.

Now something has changed and there is less faith in the Ukrainian. William Hill - 1.08, Unibet -1.07, and Bet-a-Home -1.10.

At the same time, Vakh’s chances also increased. If the day before the fight the bets were 1 to 12. Now the average is 1 to 6.5. That is, in fact, the chances have doubled.

00:42. Of course, they can show us another fight, but we wouldn’t want to, we are waiting for Vladimir Klitschko and his opponent. The best joke that comes to mind is: “Given Vladimir’s style, Mariusz Wach and I will have the same chance of falling asleep that evening.” And they will show us the fight between Rafael Yatskevich and Rick Godding.

00:39. Rakhim Chakhkiev wins by unanimous decision.

Round 10. Well, Taylor has a very strong head, but to win this fight he will need judges like those who officiated the Hook-Arslan fight. We are waiting for a solution that seems obvious.

Round 9. Taylor shows with gestures that Chakhkiev’s punches do not cause him any harm and encourages the Russian to continue trying to punch. Rahim responds by exploding with more series and confidently taking the round.

Round 8. Chakhkiev asked for a stop, but continued attacking Taylor - the referee took a point from the American, and Chakhkiev had another cut, stronger than the previous one. Half a minute before the end, Rahim hit well, but again could not turn the advantage into an early end to the fight.

Round 7. Chakhkiev slowed down a little and immediately almost paid for it. Twice in a round the American hits very well and seems to bring the intrigue back into the fight.

Round 6. Rahim hits well again, but can’t finish it off yet - the American has a strong head, and he holds his hands well, constantly overlapping.

Round 5. Nothing new: Chakhkiev presses, backs away and the American gets it. It seems Rahim is guaranteed to take half the rounds.

Round 4. Again we see attacks only from Chakhkiev and he hits with several single blows. Taylor is still firmly on his feet, but with each round, with this development of the fight, it will be more difficult for him to do this.

Round 3. With a series of three direct blows, Chakhkiev again forces the opponent to go into deep defense, which, it should be noted, Taylor succeeds thanks to the clinch. Chakhkiev works as number one and almost constantly moves forward, while the opponent is still trying to catch Rakhim in the oncoming movement and constantly enters the clinch.

Round 2. Taylor dives low and constantly tries to throw out a side kick while lifting his body. In the middle of the round, Chakhkiev was examined by a doctor due to a small cut - nothing serious. Taylor regularly uses the clinch to stop Chakhkiev.

Round 1. The boxers began with reconnaissance with single accentuated blows and by the middle of the round Rahim took out Taylor, but the opponent managed to cling to the Russian and recover. Chakhkiev definitely takes the round - at the end of the day Taylor got another one.

23:53. The broadcast on “Russia 2” began and Rakhim Chakhkiev was already in the ring along with his opponent.

23:38. Marius Wacha I had to suffer through six rounds with another US representative Tye Fieldsom. But the fight also ended in a knockout.

23:35. Let us remember that in the last match Vladimir Klichko defeated the American Tony Thompson, knocking him out in the first round.

23:22. We also have a lot of text from Germany, but so far the best that was were the comments of the promoter Wach and Vitali Klitschko, if you read them one after the other:

Vitaliy Klichko: I am confident that Vladimir, like an experienced and cunning fox, will outplay the Pole in the ring and defeat him.

Mariusz Koldzei: The Vikings invaded Hamburg many years ago. History repeats itself. In 2012, the Vikings are here again. Mariusz is a Viking from Poland.

So there are no problems with poetry, and now to harsh prose:

David Ejibia had several fights where everyone seemed to know the result in advance.

Alexander Levit about sizes and their meaning, if only after the fight we could talk about exchanges and their meaning.

Sylvester Stallone is flying from Germany, who is not even sure about Rocky if he has to fight Klitschko.

And also Alexander Levit with Rakhim Chakhkiev

23:09. Before Vladimir’s fight, it makes sense to take a break from preparing food for yourself, not only because you won’t need it, but also to cheer for Rakhim Chakhkiev, who will enter the ring against Andres Taylor.

Rakhim Chakhkiev.

Height:183 cm

Weight:91 kg

Record: 15-0

Andres Taylor.

Height:183 cm

Record: 21-2

23:00. A little about the main heroes of the occasion. The 32-year-old Polish boxer has not suffered a single defeat in the professional ring, scoring 15 of his 27 victories by knockout. For Vakh this will be the first title fight in his career.

36-year-old Klitschko will once again defend his championship belts. Let us remember that in the previous fight, Klitschko won a confident early victory in the sixth round over American Tony Thompson. Note that this will be the first fight for the Ukrainian boxer after the death of his coach Emmanuel Steward.

Vladimir Klichko.

Height:198 cm

Weight: 112 kg

Record: 58-3

Words: Every second, every moment I will try to win ahead of schedule. A knockout is the best thing a boxer can do in the ring.

Mariusz Wach.

Height:202 cm

Weight:113.8 kg

Record: 27-0

Words:“I am 120 percent sure that I will enter the ring in order to win,” Vakh said in an interview with RTL TV. – If there was only 90 percent confidence, you would not have seen me in Hamburg.