Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine became the undisputed world heavyweight champion by beating Great Britain’s David Haye on a unanimous points decision here on Saturday night. Klitschko now holds the IBF, WBO and WBA belts after being awarded the fight by the three judges 117-109, 118-108, 116-110 to claim victory over Haye, the former WBA champion.
Klitschko and elder brother Vitali, the WBC champion, now hold all four of the major world titles. “It was not easy, he was incredibly fast,” said Klitschko, nicknamed ‘Dr Steelhammer’, who thanked the 40,000-strong crowd for braving the rain during the outdoor bout at Hamburg’s football stadium. “It was not enough for my 50th knock-out, but now we have all the belts in the Klitschko family.”
Haye said a broken toe in training had hampered him during the fight. “I gave everything I could, but I knew that I am not fully fit,” said the Brit, who was roared on by a significant British influence in the crowd. “I couldn’t push off my right leg because I broke my toe in training. It was frustrating.” It was a bout that promised much and delivered little, as Haye struggled to get inside Klitschko’s reach, despite his pre-fight boast that he would knock the Ukrainian out. Klitschko won the IBF belt against Chris Byrd in 2006 and added the WBO title two years later, while Haye had been the WBA champion since 2009.
This was the first heavyweight unification bout since Klitschko took the WBO belt from Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden in 2008 and the biggest title fight since Mike Tyson was beaten by Lennox Lewis in 2002. The pair had been due to meet in 2009 in Gelsenkirchen, but a back injury forced Haye out This was the Ukrainian’s 56th win in his 59th professional bout with just three defeats, but he failed to make Haye his 50th knock-out, while this was the second defeat of Haye’s career to leave him with 25 wins and 23 knock-outs from 27 fights.
Heavy rain and swirling winds in the north German city blighted the open-air bout and both fighters were well wrapped up against the chilly night air before the first bell. Haye was down in the first round when Klitschko pushed him as both fighters probed each other’s defence with a series of jabs, the Ukrainian beginning cautiously while Haye looked to land a big right on several occasions.
Both fighters landed shots to the face in the second, but it was Haye in the third who struck the first significant blow by landing a big right over the top of Klitschko’s left hand, before the Brit was briefly caught on the ropes.
