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Holyfield beaten on points
13/10/2007 22:54 - (SA)
Moscow - Sultan Ibragimov retained his WBO title on Saturday with a unanimous points decision over Evander Holyfield.
The 32-year-old Russian improved to 22-0 with one draw with a slick, counter-punching display at the Khodynka Arena against a durable performance by Holyfield (42-9 with two draws), who turns 45 next Friday.
The judges scored the 12-round fight 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111 for Ibragimov.
Ibragimov will now try and unify the fractured division, with the other titles held by Wladimir Klitschko (IBF and IBO), Ruslan Chagaev (WBA) and Oleg Maskaev (WBC).
Holyfield, who beat James "Buster" Douglas (IBF, WBA and WBC) in 1990, Mike Tyson (WBA) in 1996, Michael Moorer (IBF) in 1997 and John Ruiz (WBA) in 2000, had been trying to win a fifth heavyweight title.
If he had, then he would have been the second-oldest heavyweight champ behind George Foreman, who knocked out Moorer to win the WBA and IBF titles in 1994 at 45 and 300 days.
The first round was uneventful with both fighters feeling each other out, although Holyfield looked happy to tie up Ibragimov to negate his superior hand speed. It also looked like Holyfield accidentally butted Ibragimov's nose.
There was more action in the next round. Holyfield rocked Ibragimov with a heavy right hand on one occasion and caught him with a glancing left hook on another. The two men exchanged stares and words at the bell.
Holyfield was the early aggressor, looking for any chance to unleash his left hook. But Ibragimov clearly took the third round while fighting off the back foot, landing several straight lefts to the head and body of Holyfield.
Holyfield was still tracking Ibragimov around the ring, trying to land his right but wary of the slick counter-punching threat of the Russian as neither fighter landed any significant punches in a hard fourth round to score.
Ibragimov took more initiative in the fifth and landed the cleaner punches, but he still got caught with a straight right, left hook combination and his trainer Jeff Mayweather attended to the Russian's nose after the bell.
Ibragimov's snaking jab allowed him to circle the ring and fight on the outside, forcing Holyfield to try and rush through it to breach the distance. But that only meant his well-regarded chin took a couple of straight lefts.
The tempo picked up in the seventh round. Holyfield's legs buckled after catching a punch on the chin, but he came back and landed a flurry of blows before Ibragimov landed a wild right hook to take the round easily.
Ibragimov's faster hands and feet ensured he remained ahead on the judges' scorecards, but his chin did well to withstand an overhand right from Holyfield as his compact, southpaw combinations helped him recover his poise.
A succession of left rips to the body staggered Holyfield in the 10th round and brought the crowd to its feet. Holyfield crumpled over as Ibragimov chased him round the ring, snapping a couple of jabs to his face, too. But "The Real Deal" recovered late in the round to land a left-right-left combination and ensure he didn't lose it 10-8.
Chasing the fight, Holyfield slipped as he threw a wild haymaker in the 11th, the referee ruling no knockdown. Ibragimov stayed out of trouble, dancing in and out to land a jab or two as Holyfield incessantly stalked him.
Holyfield needed a knockout as the last round started. But on the odd occasion he trapped Ibragimov on the ropes to throw left and right hooks, the Russian would tie him up in a clinch and force the referee to intervene.
The crowd chanted "Sultan! Sultan!" as the end neared, with both fighters embracing at the final bell.
- AP
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