By: Matt Yanofsky

In the first heavyweight unification since Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999, IBF king Wladimir Klitschko 50-3 (44 KO’s) retained his belt while winning the WBO strap from previously unbeaten but untested Sultan Ibragimov 22-1-1 (17 KOs). After being outworked in an extremely uneventful first round by the smaller Ibragimov, Klitschko began using an effective jab working while using a parry like move to push Sultan’s punches away.

Outside of a knockdown that referee Wayne Kelly missed in round 9 where a Klitschko right hand had Ibragimov held up only by the ropes, there was little action as Klitschko’s jabs and occasional right hands continued to tell the story. Scores were 119-110, 118-110, and 117-111 for Klitschko who may be heading toward a fight with the winner of the March 8th WBC title fight between Sam Peter and Oleg Maskaev.