Wladimir Klitschko Unification Bout

History will be in the making on Saturday night when Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov meet at Madison Square Garden.

The clash between Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs), the IBF heavyweight champion, and WBO counterpart Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 KOs) is the first unification contest the division has seen since 1999, when Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield.

This has prompted Kery Davis, the head of boxing at fight broadcaster HBO to comment, "Unifications are rare, heavyweight unifications are even rarer".

So rare that Klitschko promoter Tom Loeffler had to be reminded by fight co-promoter Leon Margules that even his fighter, embarking on his 53rd professional fight, had not been involved in this sort of occasion before.

"I was talking to Leon Margules and I asked, 'Is this the biggest fight you've ever been involved in?"' Loeffler said at Wednesday's final pre-fight press conference.

"He said, 'Of course, and it's also the biggest fight you've ever been involved in, too."'
Both fighters are also aware of the importance this fight has in restoring credibility to a long-troubled division in a much-maligned sport.

"To be the heavyweight champion means a lot," Klitschko said. "The title is very special and is different than other titles in sport. The heavyweight champion can use that title to inspire people outside of the ring all over the world.

"I am determined to win this fight. I am not looking beyond that. That is my determination and goal - to clean up the heavyweight division with each fighter I face." Standing at 6ft 6in, the 31-year-old Klitschko enjoys a four-inch height advantage over Ibragimov, 32.

But he is wary of the Russian's relatively quick feet and effective rather than entertaining style. Ibragimov weighed in at 219 pounds for the second straight fight. Klitschko weighed in at 238 pounds, his lightest fighting weight since beating another "small" southpaw, Chris Byrd, in 2000. "I'm the lightest I've ever been but I feel strong and energetic," Klitschko said after Thursday's weigh-in.

"I feel great. The weight was a result of intensive training with fighters who were all at least one weight class below me."

Ibragimov certainly has handled big men before, taking his title from the 6ft 4in Shannon Briggs and stopping 6ft 8in Lance Whitaker.

Trainer Jeff Mayweather, the uncle of current pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr, certainly thinks Ibragimov has the goods to upset the favourite.

"I have the heavyweight champion, he's the right guy with the right temperament," Mayweather said.

"This is the opportunity I have waited my whole life for. It has brought me out of the shadows of being the other Mayweather."