Sultan Ibragimov
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Olympic medal record | |||
Men's Boxing | |||
---|---|---|---|
Silver | 2000 | Heavyweight |
Sultan Ibragimov (born March 8, 1975) is a Russian heavyweight boxer of Dagestani descent.
As of April 23, 2006, Ibragimov is ranked #3 in the WBO Heavyweight rankings, #5 in the IBF and #9 in the WBA. He is trained by Jeff Mayweather. Ibragimov won the silver medal in boxing (heavyweight category) for Russia in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Sultan's stablemate, Timur Ibragimov (often spelled in the West as "Timor"), is also a heavyweight boxer, representing Uzbekistan, but currently residing in Florida, USA. For a long time these boxers were believed to be related. They are, in fact, not related. The Ibragimovs are part of the trend that has seen the great impact of heavyweights from the former Soviet Union on the world boxing scene. As of August 12, 2006, all of the four recognized world heavyweight titles were held by athletes from the former Soviet Union: Oleg Maskaev (WBC) Vladimir Klitschko (IBF), Nikolai Valuev (WBA) and Sergei Lyakhovich (WBO). This trend has led many to believe that the historic dominance of Americans as Heavyweight Champions has come to an end, and may have started as early as 1999, when Briton Lennox Lewis won the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship by defeating American Evander Holyfield.
Ruslan Chagaev, Alexander Povetkin, Alexander Dimitrenko, and Denis Boytsov - all undefeated - are considered a second wave of USSR boxers advancing and challenging former US dominance in the professional heavyweight division.
On July 28th, Sultan's record became 19-0-1 when he fought to a draw with Ray Austin in a grueling 12 round IBF Heavyweight Title Eliminator.
Despite the draw against Ray Austin, Ibragimov received a title shot from another santioning organization - WBO. He was scheduled to challenge Shannon Briggs for the WBO Heavyweight Title on March 10 2007, but because Briggs became ill with pneumonia, Ibragimov instead faced Javier Mora at Madison Square Gardens in New York on that date. Sultan won with a first-round knockout, improving his record to 20-0-1.