June 20th, 2009 Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany IBF Heavyweight Title WBO Heavyweight Title IBO Heavyweight Title (WBA Heavyweight Title not available)
Re: Wladimir Klitschko (52-3) vs. Ruslan Chagaev (25-0-1) [20-Jun-09] (ESPN Classic) Heavyweight boxing is such a bore nowadays.
Re: Wladimir Klitschko (52-3) vs. Ruslan Chagaev (25-0-1) [20-Jun-09] (ESPN Classic) ESPN Classic will air this fight live tomorrow afternoon. The arena in Gelsenkirchen has sold in excess of 60,000 seats for the event, making it potentially the highest attended boxing match in Germany since Max Schmeling vs. Adolf Heuser in the 30s. The only other fights I think could draw more would be Klitschko vs. Klitschko, which will never happen, and Mayweather/Pacquiao, which also may never happen. As for the latter, I doubt they'd even host the fight in an arena that large, anyways. Chagaev weighed in today at 225 pounds, and Klitschko weighed in at 240 pounds. The WBA can't get it's shit together at the moment so no word on whether that belt will be up for grabs. So far it isn't. A disorganized boxing commission? The devil you say!
Re: Wladimir Klitschko (52-3) vs. Ruslan Chagaev (25-0-1) [20-Jun-09] (ESPN Classic) This is one of the most interesting fights they can come up with given the shallowness of the talent pool at heavyweight. Also, it's taking place in Germany and there is bound to be some controversy. Definitely worth a watch if you get the channel.
Did anyone watch? Klitschko jabbed and prodded for eight or so rounds before the fight was stopped due to a cut above Chagaev's eye. Whether or not it was because of the cut being bad or concerns over Hep B I'm not sure. Chagaev did nothing threatening the whole fight besides clocking Wlad once after the bell. Klitcshko might of thrown a combination of more than two punches during the fight but if he did, I didn't see it. It was mostly left jab/right straight, and even that was rare. Klitschko is just not an exciting fighter. Surprisingly there were some jeers from the capacity crowd during the fight. As much as they like Klitschko, the event wasn't very entertaining.