The first heavyweight unification bout of the 21st Century wasn't a particularly entertaining fight, but it was Wladimir Klitschko's first step toward unifiying the titles, with a unanimous decision victory over Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden.
Klitschko used his enormous height and reach advantage to knock down the southpaw Ibragimov's jabs, and Klitschko's own jabs were effective against Ibragimov. But for much of the fight those left jabs were all he used -- he was so hesitant to follow the left with the right that it raised the question of whether his right hand or shoulder was injured. Klitschko did, however, eventually start unleashing the right.
The crowd grew restless and often booed as the fight wore on and both fighters took cautious approaches, and Klitschko's 50th career win was not from his most impressive.
Ibragimov entered as the WBO champion and Klitschko entered as the IBF champion. There's a good chance that the belts will be unified within the next year, which would be great for boxing. But it would be even better for boxing if its top heavyweight fights were more entertaining than this one.
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