Sultan Ibragimov - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov' onMouseout='HidePop("29846")' href="/topics/Soviet_Union">Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

), is a retired professional boxer and a former WBO heavyweight champion. He is of Avar

Caucasian Avars

Avars or Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan, in which they are the predominant group. The Caucasian Avar language belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language family ....

Dagestani Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

descent. He fought to become a unified world champion in February 2008, but lost to Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...

Amateur career

2000 Silver medal as a heavyweight in the 2000 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 2000 Summer Olympics

The boxing competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney was held over a period of sixteen days at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour...

.

Results:

Defeated Pauga Laulau (Samoa) RSCO-4
Defeated Jackson Chanet
Jackson Chanet
Jackson Chanet is a French boxer best known for winning the 2000 European Amateur Boxing Championships heavyweight title.-Amateur:...

(France) PTS (18-13)
Defeated Vladimer Tchanturia
Vladimer Tchanturia
Vladimer Chanturia is a Georgian boxer who competed in the Heavyweight division at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal.- Amateur highlights :...

(Georgia) PTS (19-14)
Lost to Félix Savón
Félix Savón
Félix Savón Fabre is a Cuban heavyweight boxer, a winner of three gold medals at the Olympic Games. Savón is considered a legend in amateur boxing and has won six world titles....

(Cuba) PTS (13-21)

2000 Silver medal as a heavyweight at the European Championship

2000 European Amateur Boxing Championships

The Men's 2000 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Tampere, Finland from May 13 to 21. The 33rd edition of thi bi-annual competition, in which 175 fighters from 34 countries participated this time, was organised by the Tampere Boxing Association, Member of the Finnish Boxing...

in Tampere

Tampere

Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

.

Results:

Defeated Primislav Dimovski (Macedonia) PTS
Defeated Alexander Yatsenko (Ukraine) AB-3
Defeated Andreas Gustavsson (Sweden)
Lost to Jackson Chanet
Jackson Chanet
Jackson Chanet is a French boxer best known for winning the 2000 European Amateur Boxing Championships heavyweight title.-Amateur:...

(France) DSQ

2001 Bronze medal at the World Championships

2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships

The Men's 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from June 3 to June 10. The competition was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing International Boxing Association...

in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Results:

Defeated Stephen Reynolds (Ireland) RSC-2
Defeated Kubrat Pulev
Kubrat Pulev
Kubrat Venkov Pulev is a Bulgarian professional heavyweight boxer best known to medal repeatedly at international tournaments as an amateur, winning the gold medal in the super heavyweight division at the 2008 European Championships.-Heavyweight with 201lbs/ 91kg limit:At the 2001 world...

(Bulgaria) PTS
Lost to Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solís Fonte is a Cuban professional boxer. He won the Olympic Gold medal in Athens 2004 and was a three time winner at the World Amateur Boxing Championships.-Amateur career:...

(Cuba) PTS (13-23)

Professional career

Ibragimov turned professional and rose through the heavyweigh ranks by knocking out journeymen Al Cole

Al Cole

Alfred "Ice" Cole is a heavyweight boxer.Cole was a champion and a major force in the cruiserweight division prior to moving up to the heavyweight division, where he had less success....

, Zuri Lawrence

Zuri Lawrence

Zuri Lawrence is a professional heavyweight boxer best known to score a few notable wins over famous boxers but never reaching contender status.-Career:...

, Friday Ahunanya

Friday Ahunanya

Friday Chinedu Ahunanya, born Friday November 19, 1971 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is a professional boxer. He is a journeyman heavyweight best known to beat several undefeated prospects and for his appearances on ESPN fight cards....

and Lance Whitaker

Lance Whitaker

Lance Whitaker is an American heavyweight boxer, who won the bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata...

. On 28 July 2007, Sultan's record became 19-0-1 when he fought to a draw with Ray Austin

Ray Austin (boxer)

Ray Austin is an American professional boxer.-Professional career:Nicknamed "The Rainman", Ray Austin is a heavyweight boxer. Austin has drawn with other notable heavyweights Lance Whitaker, Larry Donald, and Sultan Ibragimov...

in a grueling 12 round IBF

IBF

IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...

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

Shannon Briggs

Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs is an American heavyweight boxer and actor. He is the former Lineal and WBO heavyweight champion.-Early life:...

for the WBO heavyweight title on 10 March 2007, but because Briggs became ill with pneumonia, Ibragimov instead faced Javier Mora

Javier Mora (boxer)

Javier Mora is a Mexican boxer in the Heavyweight division. He was defeated by Alexander Povetkin by a 5-round TKO, in Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany.-Professional career:...

at Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

in New York on that date. Ibragimov knocked out Mora

Javier Mora (boxer)

Javier Mora is a Mexican boxer in the Heavyweight division. He was defeated by Alexander Povetkin by a 5-round TKO, in Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany.-Professional career:...

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

Lee Savold

Lee Savold was a heavyweight boxer who held the British and European version of the World Heavyweight championship between 1950 and 1951 and was a leading contender in the forties and early fifties....

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

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

on 2 June 2007.

On 13 October 2007, Sultan Ibragimov won his first title defense against the aging former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...

by unanimous decision for the WBO heavyweight title at Khodynka Arena in Moscow, Russia.

Ibragimov fought Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...

on 23 February 2008 at Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

. This fight was a unification bout laying the two fighters' IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

, IBO

International Boxing Organization

The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...

, and WBO

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

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.

Retirement

In February 2009 there were rumors about Sultan Ibragimovs retirement, following his loss to Wladimir Klitschko in February 2008.
It was later confirmed and announced that Ibragimov had retired from professional boxing.

Trivia

He is only the fifth southpaw heavyweight champion in history. The others are Michael Moorer
Michael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...

, Corrie Sanders
Corrie Sanders
Cornelius "Corrie" Johannes Sanders is a South African former professional boxer. In 2003 he became the WBO heavyweight champion by defeating Wladimir Klitschko via a second-round knock out that is considered one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history and won Ring Magazine upset of...

, Chris Byrd
Chris Byrd
Chris Cornelius Byrd is a retired and former professional boxer. He is the former WBO and IBF heavyweight champion. His nickname is "Rapid Fire".- Early life :...

, and Ruslan Chagaev
Ruslan Chagaev
Ruslan Chagaev born October 19, 1978 in Andijan, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union) is an Uzbekistani former WBA heavyweight boxing champion of Tatar ethnicity...

, however only Moorer was an authentic lineal champion—Ibragimov and Sanders held the WBO belt, whereas Byrd and Chagaev won vacant belts whilst someone else was widely considered the premier heavyweight.
Sultan's cousin, Timur Ibragimov
Timur Ibragimov
Timur Ibragimov is a heavyweight professional boxer.-Personal:...

, is also a heavyweight professional boxer. However, Sultan fights for Russia, while Timur represents Uzbekistan.

Professional boxing record

Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...

|UD
|12
|23/02/2008
|align=left|

Evander Holyfield

|UD
|12
|13/10/2007
|align=left|

Shannon Briggs

Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs is an American heavyweight boxer and actor. He is the former Lineal and WBO heavyweight champion.-Early life:...

|UD
|12
|02/06/2007
|align=left|

Javier Mora

Javier Mora (boxer)

Javier Mora is a Mexican boxer in the Heavyweight division. He was defeated by Alexander Povetkin by a 5-round TKO, in Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany.-Professional career:...

|TKO
|1
|10/03/2007
|align=left|

Ray Austin

Ray Austin (boxer)

|PTS
|12
|28/07/2006
|align=left|

Lance Whitaker

Lance Whitaker is an American heavyweight boxer, who won the bronze medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata...

|TKO
|1
|15/12/2005
|align=left|

Friday Ahunanya

|TD
|9
|16/09/2005
|align=left|

Andy Sample
|TKO
|1
|24/06/2005
|align=left|

Zuri Lawrence

Zuri Lawrence is a professional heavyweight boxer best known to score a few notable wins over famous boxers but never reaching contender status.-Career:...

|TKO
|11
|22/04/2005
|align=left|

Alfred Cole

Al Cole

Alfred "Ice" Cole is a heavyweight boxer.Cole was a champion and a major force in the cruiserweight division prior to moving up to the heavyweight division, where he had less success....

|TKO
|3
|03/03/2005
|align=left|

James Walton
|TKO
|6
|11/12/2004
|align=left|

Najee Shaheed
|KO
|3
|16/10/2004
|align=left|