Sultan Ibragimov, of Russia, left, trades blows with Ray Austin, of Cleveland, during the third round of an IBF heavyweight fight Friday, July 28, 2006, in Hollywood, Fla. The pair fought to a draw.
Photo: AP
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Ibragimov Got Knockdown Back
Heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov of Russia exchanged knockdowns with Ray Austin of the United States in the third round of an IBF heavyweight fight Friday, July 28, 2006, in Hollywood, Fla. The fight ended by a draw and revealed no contender to challenge the IBF champ title currently held by Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko.
The draw of Sultan Ibragimov and Ray Austin calls for a repeated battle to determine the contender. The U.S. audience will hardly oppose it. The July 28 fight was a real show.
Only those, who had never seen the Russian in the boxing match arena, thought he would be over cautious when facing yet the mightiest boxer he ever encountered en route to the title. Well-known for a perfect killer’s instinct, Ibragimov started at Seminole Hard Rock Arena as usual, breaking the distance, coming closer and always punching.
Austin had a difficult time. The two-punch combination of Ibragimov in the fourth round ended by a knockdown for the American. Austin not only survived it but also leveled the fight, having adjusted to the Russian at last. And Austin came out beating. For Ibragimov, the first alarming signal was in the seventh round, though the referee registered no knockdown that time. Ibragimov missed a left hook in the tenth round and ended up on the floor. The boxers were equal in knockdowns but only one referee favored the Russian.
The only way out was to accelerate, and Ibragimov accelerated. He was perfect in the last round, and successful starting rounds coupled with the brilliant end showed by the Russian were compared with firmness and mastership of the American.
The first referee was for Austin (114:112), the second preferred Ibragimov (115:111), and the third though the pair fought to a draw (113:113), which was the official result of the match.
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All the Article in Russian as of July 31, 2006
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