Sultan Ibragimov

Sultan Ibragimov Султан Ибрагимов
Statistics
Real name	Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Reach	193 cm (76 in)
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1975-03-08) 8 March 1975 Tlyarata, Dagestan Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	24
Wins	22
Wins by KO	18
Losses	1
Draws	1
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Russia Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Heavyweight European Championships 2000 Tampere Heavyweight World Championships 2001 Belfast Heavyweight

Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov (Russian: Султан-Ахмед Магомедсалихович Ибрагимов; born 8 March 1975)^[1] is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2008, and held the WBO heavyweight title from 2007 to 2008. As an amateur he won silver medals at the 2000 Olympics and 2000 European Championships, and bronze at the 2001 World Championships, all in the heavyweight division.

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

2002-2006: Prospect to Contender

Ibragimov turned professional and rose through the heavyweight ranks by knocking out journeymen Al Cole, Zuri Lawrence, Friday Ahunanya and Lance Whitaker.

On 28 July 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.

2007: WBO Heavyweight Champion & Holyfield Bout

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 10 March 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 faced the heavy-handed WBO Heavyweight Champion Shannon Briggs in Atlantic City, New Jersey on 2 June 2007. With an exception of an early and late pressure by Briggs in round one & twelve, rounds two to eleven were mostly controlled by Ibragimov, out-boxing his larger opponent with fast combinations.

On 13 October 2007, Sultan Ibragimov won his first title defense against the aging former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield by unanimous decision^[2] for the WBO heavyweight title at Khodynka Arena in Moscow, Russia.^[3]

Ibragimov fought Wladimir Klitschko on 23 February 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.

2008: Unification Bout Vs Klitschko

He was defeated by Wladimir Klitschko by way of a unanimous decision. Ibragimov had his moments, but for the most part was unable to get past Klitschko's long jab and occasional straight right hand, he struggled to land any significant punches on his larger opponent.

Retirement

In February 2009 there were rumors about Ibragimov's retirement from boxing following his loss to Wladimir Klitschko,^[4] which were later confirmed in July 2009.^[5][6]

Personal life

Ibragimov is of Avar Dagestani descent, and is Muslim by faith.^[7]

Trivia

• He is only the sixth southpaw heavyweight champion in history.^[8] The others are Michael Moorer, Corrie Sanders, Chris Byrd, Ruslan Chagaev and Charles Martin however only Moorer was an authentic lineal champion—Ibragimov and Sanders held the WBO belt, whereas Byrd & Martin won vacant belts whilst someone else was widely considered the premier heavyweight.
• Sultan's cousin, Timur Ibragimov, is also a heavyweight professional boxer. However, Sultan fights for Russia, while Timur represents Uzbekistan.^[9][10]

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
24	Loss	22–1–1	Wladimir Klitschko	UD	12	23 Feb 2008	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US	Lost WBO heavyweight title; For IBF and IBO heavyweight titles
23	Win	22–0–1	Evander Holyfield	UD	12	13 Oct 2007	Megasport Arena, Moscow, Russia	Retained WBO heavyweight title
22	Win	21–0–1	Shannon Briggs	UD	12	2 Jun 2007	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Won WBO heavyweight title
21	Win	20–0–1	Javier Mora	TKO	1 (10), 0:46	10 Mar 2007	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
20	Draw	19–0–1	Ray Austin	SD	12	28 Jul 2006	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino]], Hollywood, Florida, US
19	Win	19–0	Lance Whitaker	TKO	7 (12), 2:01	15 Dec 2005	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, US	Retained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
18	Win	18–0	Friday Ahunanya	TD	9 (12)	16 Sep 2005	The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Georgia, US	Retained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title; Unanimous TD after Ahunanya sustained a cut from an accidental head clash
17	Win	17–0	Andy Sample	TKO	1 (12), 2:47	24 Jun 2005	The Orleans, Paradise, Nevada, US	Retained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
16	Win	16–0	Zuri Lawrence	TKO	11 (12), 0:32	22 Apr 2005	Tropicana Casino & Resort, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Retained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
15	Win	15–0	Al Cole	TKO	3 (12), 1:46	3 Mar 2005	The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US	Retained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
14	Win	14–0	James Walton	TKO	6 (12), 3:00	11 Dec 2004	Atlantic Oceana Hall, New York City, New York, US	Retained WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
13	Win	13–0	Najee Shaheed	KO	3 (12), 2:45	16 Oct 2004	Ovation Club, Boynton Beach, Florida, US	Won vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title
12	Win	12–0	Onebo Maxime	TKO	5 (8), 2:13	28 Aug 2004	Ovation Club, Boynton Beach, Florida, US
11	Win	11–0	Alexey Osokin	UD	8	10 Mar 2004	Crystal Casino, Moscow, Russia
10	Win	10–0	Piotr Sapun	KO	1 (8)	29 Jan 2004	Centr na Tulskoy, Moscow, Russia
9	Win	9–0	Sedrak Agagulyan	TKO	1 (8)	12 Sep 2003	Sports Palace Yunost, Donetsk, Ukraine
8	Win	8–0	Marcus McGee	TKO	8 (8)	6 Jun 2003	KSK "Express", Rostov-on-Don, Russia
7	Win	7–0	Carlos Barcelete	KO	3 (6)	22 Apr 2003	Casino Kamilla, Moscow, Russia
6	Win	6–0	Chad Butler	UD	6	26 Mar 2003	Convention Center, Coconut Grove, Florida, US
5	Win	5–0	Lincoln Luke	RTD	2 (4), 3:00	20 Dec 2002	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, US
4	Win	4–0	Clarence Goins	TKO	1 (4), 1:36	6 Dec 2002	Palladium Athletic Village, Davie, Florida, US
3	Win	3–0	Leroy Hollis	TKO	1 (4), 2:30	18 Oct 2002	Hard Rock Cafe, Orlando, Florida, US
2	Win	2–0	John Phillips	TKO	1 (4), 1:26	7 Jun 2002	DeSoto Civic Center, Southaven, Mississippi, US
1	Win	1–0	Tracy Williams	KO	1 (4), 1:19	25 May 2002	Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Florida, US	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Sultan Ibragimov from BoxRec
• Sultan Ibragimov Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Boxing-Encyclopedia
• Sports.yahoo.com