24.11.03 – Four days prior to Xmas it will be KlitschKO Time in Northern Germany. On December 20 former WBO heavyweight champion Dr. Wladimir Klitschko, 41-2 (38), will take on American Danell „Doc“ Nicholson at the huge Ostseehalle in Kiel. It will be Wladimir Klitschko’s second fight since he lost his WBO world title to Corrie Sanders on March 8th in the heavyweight upset of the year.
His 36-year-old opponent Nicholson, 42-4 (32), is an experienced professional for more than 11 years and fought against the likes of John Ruiz, Andrew Golota and Kirk Johnson. In his last 19 fights Nicholson scored 18 victories whereas he suffered a defeat against David Tua in an IBF championship eliminator.
At stage on December 20 will be the WBA international title of the 27-year-old Klitschko.
„Danell Nicholson is exactly the kind of opponent that Wladimir currently needs“, promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl said. “He is skilful, punches hard and is a very underrated American fighter. This won’t be an easy night for Wladimir. Nicholson proved against world class opposition what he has in store. Wladimir needs this kind of fighter after this year of very mixed success to re-establish his superior tactic, his skills and his hard punch. I’m certain Wladimir will display a great fight.”
Nicholson will arrive in Kiel one week before the fight. Both Klitschko brother are currently training in Los Angeles and will return to Germany after Vitali Klitschko fought Kirk Johnson on December 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Ostseehalle in Kiel, a city that wasn’t host to a boxing event for 21 years, is already almost a sell out. 10,000 tickets have already been sold, only 500 are left.
In the co-main event WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm will make the first defense of his title against Spaniard Ruben Varon, 21-2 (12). The 24-year-old Sturm, 19-0 (9), has won the WBO crown in September against reigning champion Hector Velacso from Argentina.
The undercard features among others Russian heavyweight prospect Alexander Dimitrenko, 11-0 (7), and former European welterweight champion Michel Trabant, 38-1 (18), who closely failed to win the WBA world title in September when he dropped decision against American Jose Antonio Rivera in Berlin.
Webcam Live Broadcast on December 20
You can watch the entire fightcard of Kiel on www.boxing.de via webcam with a picture of the ring and sound from the arena. Be sure to set up your Realplayer properly! The most recent version – Realplayer 9.0 – is required. You can download this plug-in for free at www.real.com.
Start Webcam Broadcast on December 20:
19:00 Deutschland, 1pm New York, 10am Los Angeles
www.boxing.de/live
Next Events
December 20
Webcam Live Broadcast: 19:00 Deutschland, 1pm US ET, 10am US PT
Ostseehalle, Kiel
Internationael Heavyweight Contest
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Danell Nicholson
WBO Middleweight Championship
Felix Sturm vs. Ruben Varon