Jump to content

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sam11333 (talk | contribs) at 17:08, 9 May 2018. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

X-Plosive
Date13 December 2008
VenueSAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany
Title(s) on the lineIBF/WBO/IBO Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Ukraine Wladimir Klitschko United States Hasim Rahman
Nickname "Dr. Steelhammer" "The Rock"
Hometown Kiev, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Pre-fight record 51–3 45–6–2 (1)
Weight 244¾ lb 253½ lb
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition IBF/WBO/IBO
Heavyweight Champion
IBF
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
WBO
No. 8 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Klitschko defeated Rahman by 7th round TKO

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman, billed as "X-Plosive", was a professional boxing match contested on 13 December 2008 for the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championship.[1]

Background

After unifying the IBF & WBO title by defeating Sultan Ibragimov, Wladimir Klitschko made one title defence against WBO mandatory challenger Tony Thompson before agreeing to face his IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin. In October 2008 Povetkin withdrew with a leg injury, and with the second and third ranked contenders Alexander Dimitrenko and Chris Arreola unavailable, Klitschko agreed to face former unified champion Hasim Rahman.[2][3][4]

Before agreeing to face Klitschko, Rahman had won four of his five fights since losing his WBC title to Oleg Maskaev, the fifth was a no contest with James Toney. He was aiming to join Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, and Lennox Lewis as the only boxers ever to win a heavyweight title on three or more occasions.

On the undercard, former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe fought what would turn out to be the final fight of his career, beating jouneyman Gene Pukall by a 8 round unanimous decision.

The fight

Klitschko dominated the fight winning every round on the scorecards (two judges had it 60-53, the third scored it 60-47), before referee Tony Weeks ended the fight in the seventh round. According to CompuBox Klitschko landed 48% of his punches against Rahman's 14%.

Aftermath

After his victory, Klitschko agreed to face former unified cruiserweight champion David Haye in Germany in June 2009, however Haye pulled out and was replaced by the WBA "Champion In recess" Ruslan Chagaev.

Rahman would spend 15 months out of the ring after this fight before returning to knockout his next five oppnents before losing in two rounds to Povetkin. He would retire after a decision loss to the unknown Anthony Nansen in June 2014.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[5]

Winner Loser Weight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
United States Cornelius Bundrage Russia Zaurbek Baysangurov Super Welterweight (12 rounds) 5th round TKO.
Germany Wilhelm Fischer Latvia Edgars Kalnars Heavyweight (8 rounds) 4th round KO.
United States Riddick Bowe Germany Gene Pukall Heavyweight (8 rounds) Unanimous decision.
Germany Robin Krasniqi Germany Lars Buchholz Light Heavyweight (6 rounds) Unanimous decision.
Croatia Mario Preskar Germany Hans-Joerg Blasko Heavyweight (8 rounds) 3rd round RTD.
Albania Fatjon Murati Austria Omar Jatta Light Heavyweight (4 rounds) Unanimous decision.

Broadcasting

Country Broadcaster
 Germany RTL
 Hungary Sport 1
 Russia RTR Sport
 Ukraine Inter
 United States HBO

References

  1. ^ "Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
  2. ^ "Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman - BoxRec". boxrec.com.
  3. ^ Claudio, EJ. "My Thoughts On Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman".
  4. ^ "Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman is Being Explored".
  5. ^ "BoxRec - event". boxrec.com.
Preceded by Wladimir Klitschko's bouts
13 December 2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by Hasim Rahman's bouts
13 December 2008
Succeeded by
vs. Clinton Boldridge