The first heavyweight unification title fight since 1999 highlights a special evening of boxing-oriented programming when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO VS. SULTAN IBRAGIMOV is seen SATURDAY, FEB. 23 (9:30 p.m. ET/ 6:30 p.m. PT) from New York’s Madison Square Garden. The fight will be available in HDTV, as well as closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino. Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis on the call from ringside..
Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs), from Kiev, Ukraine, has been storming through the heavyweight ranks for the past two years. Now he puts his title on the line against fellow title-holder Sultan Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 KOs) of Russia. Though Klitschko is a year younger than the 32-year-old Ibragimov, he has more than double the pro experience.
Both fighters have enjoyed success at the Olympics. At the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Ibragimov captured a silver medal, while Klitschko secured a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
Prior to the live fight, HBO will replay the middleweight showdown KELLY PAVLIK VS. JERMAIN TAYLOR II. Their fight took place last Saturday night in Las Vegas with Pavlik registering a unanimous decision victory in their heated rematch. This exclusive replay airs at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT as the lead-in to the live heavyweight fight.
The heavyweight night of action on HBO also includes the debut of the HBO Sports documentary “Joe Louis: America’s Hero…Betrayed.” The 75-minute film on Joe Louis’ extraordinary life will premiere before the fights in the east and central time zones and after the live fight in the pacific time zone. (8:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. PT (west coast airing of Joe Louis is approx.).
All WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING events are broadcast in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
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