Sultan Ibragimov vs. Lance Whitaker - Revision history

Artur128: /* Notes */

2026-06-06T10:36:59Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:36, 6 June 2026
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	*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.		*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.
	*This was only the second stoppage loss of Whitaker's career. Both came at the hands of a European fighter.		*This was only the second stoppage loss of Whitaker's career. Both came at the hands of a European fighter.

			==Quotes==
			* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow." - Konstantin Osipov, Gazeta in Russian
			* "It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. [...] In the sixth round, the American became very hurt under this incessant shelling. And at some point, having caught an entire series from Ibragimov, the giant staggered and collapsed onto the canvas. Whitaker survived until the end of this round, and in the middle of the seventh he found, perhaps, the only acceptable way out of this situation for himself and refused to resume fighting, claiming that he was hindered by a cut over the right eye." - Alexei Dospekhov, Kommersant
			* "Eight knockout victories in a row speak volumes. Moreover, the list of victims includes not only human punching bags, like Onebo Maxime, but also great boxers, such as Lance Whitaker. [...] This fight impressed the entire boxing world so much that many have already begun to call Ibragimov the main contender for the throne of the heavyweight king." - Andrey Sentsov, Lenta RU, before Ibragimov's fight [[Sultan Ibragimov vs. Ray Austin\|against Ray Austin]].

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-08-27T10:07:09Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:07, 27 August 2023
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	*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.		*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.
	*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.		*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.
			*This was only the second stoppage loss of Whitaker's career. Both came at the hands of a European fighter.

Artur128: /* Quotes */

2023-08-24T18:39:44Z

Quotes

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:39, 24 August 2023
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	*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.		*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.
	*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.		*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.

	~~==Quotes==~~
	* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow." - Konstantin Osipov, Gazeta in Russian
	* "It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. [...] In the sixth round, the American became very hurt under this incessant shelling. And at some point, having caught an entire series from Ibragimov, the giant staggered and collapsed onto the canvas. Whitaker survived until the end of this round, and in the middle of the seventh he found, perhaps, the only acceptable way out of this situation for himself and refused to resume fighting, claiming that he was hindered by a cut over the right eye." - Alexei Dospekhov, Kommersant
	* "Eight knockout victories in a row speak volumes. Moreover, the list of victims includes not only human punching bags, like Onebo Maxime, but also great boxers, such as Lance Whitaker. [...] This fight impressed the entire boxing world so much that many have already begun to call Ibragimov the main contender for the throne of the heavyweight king." - Andrey Sentsov, Lenta RU, before Ibragimov's fight [[Sultan Ibragimov vs. Ray Austin\|against Ray Austin]].

Artur128: /* Quotes */

2023-08-24T18:31:54Z

Quotes

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:31, 24 August 2023
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	* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow." - Konstantin Osipov, Gazeta in Russian		* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow." - Konstantin Osipov, Gazeta in Russian
	* "It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. [...] In the sixth round, the American became very hurt under this incessant shelling. And at some point, having caught an entire series from Ibragimov, the giant staggered and collapsed onto the canvas. Whitaker survived until the end of this round, and in the middle of the seventh he found, perhaps, the only acceptable way out of this situation for himself and refused to resume fighting, claiming that he was hindered by a cut over the right eye." - Alexei Dospekhov, Kommersant		* "It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. [...] In the sixth round, the American became very hurt under this incessant shelling. And at some point, having caught an entire series from Ibragimov, the giant staggered and collapsed onto the canvas. Whitaker survived until the end of this round, and in the middle of the seventh he found, perhaps, the only acceptable way out of this situation for himself and refused to resume fighting, claiming that he was hindered by a cut over the right eye." - Alexei Dospekhov, Kommersant
			* "Eight knockout victories in a row speak volumes. Moreover, the list of victims includes not only human punching bags, like Onebo Maxime, but also great boxers, such as Lance Whitaker. [...] This fight impressed the entire boxing world so much that many have already begun to call Ibragimov the main contender for the throne of the heavyweight king." - Andrey Sentsov, Lenta RU, before Ibragimov's fight [[Sultan Ibragimov vs. Ray Austin\|against Ray Austin]].

Artur128: /* Quotes */

2023-08-24T18:26:49Z

Quotes

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:26, 24 August 2023
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	==Quotes==		==Quotes==
	* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow. [...] ~~So far~~, he ~~is ranked fifth in~~ the ~~World Boxing Organization's heavyweight rankings~~, ~~but~~ a ~~victory~~ over ~~Whitaker in Hollywood will certainly lift Ibragimov several steps higher in~~ the ~~rankings~~." - ~~Konstantin Osipov~~, ~~Gazeta in Russian~~		* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow." - Konstantin Osipov, Gazeta in Russian
			* "It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. [...] In the sixth round, the American became very hurt under this incessant shelling. And at some point, having caught an entire series from Ibragimov, the giant staggered and collapsed onto the canvas. Whitaker survived until the end of this round, and in the middle of the seventh he found, perhaps, the only acceptable way out of this situation for himself and refused to resume fighting, claiming that he was hindered by a cut over the right eye." - Alexei Dospekhov, Kommersant

Artur128 at 18:24, 24 August 2023

2023-08-24T18:24:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:24, 24 August 2023
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	*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.		*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.
	*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.		*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.

			==Quotes==
			* "Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to pundits, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. [...] Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow. [...] So far, he is ranked fifth in the World Boxing Organization's heavyweight rankings, but a victory over Whitaker in Hollywood will certainly lift Ibragimov several steps higher in the rankings." - Konstantin Osipov, Gazeta in Russian

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-08-05T09:53:38Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:53, 5 August 2023
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	*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.		*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.
	*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.		*Whitaker down once in rounds one, two, and six.

	~~<big>'''Sultan Conquered The Mountain'''</big>~~

	~~<small>By Alexei Dospekhov, ''Kommersant'', December 17, 2005</small>~~

	On Thursday, at a distance of several thousand kilometers from Berlin, a fight took place with the participation of a Russian boxer who, like Nikolai Valuev, may very soon have to participate in the championship match. We are talking about one of the most promising heavyweights in the world - Sultan Ibragimov, who effectively defeated the famous American Lance Whitaker within seven rounds.

	This was the 19th fight in the career of Sultan Ibragimov, a boxer whose potential is, besides statistics (not a single defeat in his career), evidenced by the fact that Mike Tyson singles him out from other heavyweights rising to the elites. Perhaps because Ibragimov reminds him of himself in his best years - when Iron Mike was not afraid of anyone, when he tried to crush his opponent in the first seconds and, even if it didn't work out in the first seconds, he wouldn't stop and always finished his opponent. The Dagestani left-hander, despite the fact that his style does not have much in common with the legendary champion, is really very similar to him in this component - the desire to fight, not just push.

	Tyson believes that 30-year-old Ibragimov is about to be ready to fight for the title. Actually, the WBO is of the same opinion, an organization whose championship of the Asia-Pacific region the Russian defended on Thursday and whose top five he is already in. Even before the fight against Lance Whitaker, its leaders said that it is possible that the next bout (or, in any case, one of the near ones) will be for the title. True, first it was necessary to defeat Whitaker, for whom the duel in Florida was no less important than for Ibragimov.

	This huge - two meters tall (a head taller than the Russian) - heavyweight nicknamed The Mountain has long been included in the elite category. By the age of 33, he fought with a lot of good heavyweights. And a lot of them, for example, Monte Barrett, Al Cole and Oleg Maskaev, he defeated. Lance Whitaker was confident that he could beat Ibragimov as well. And the November incident at the presentation of the fight, when the American brought his fist too close to the enemy's head, Ibragimov hit him in response and a fight ensued (the third person suffered the most, as is usually the case; the third person that day was manager Samson Levkowitz, who was knocked out), only angered him more and made him paint his inevitable triumph with even more juicy and offensive phrases towards the opponent.

	That's because Whitaker did not know what he was going to face, what he was going to endure. It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. It was the first knockdown.

	Another happened in the second round. And many boxers in Whitaker's position, for sure, realizing that they would not be able to offer anything of their own to the opponent, would have refused to continue the fight. But not him - too strong and too ambitious to be broken even by a couple of knockdowns. Whitaker caught blows from Ibragimov again and again, but for some reason he smiled in response and even shouted something to the enemy, as if trying to convince himself that he could still fight him.

	In the sixth round, the American became very hurt under this incessant shelling. And at some point, having caught an entire series from Ibragimov, the giant staggered and collapsed onto the canvas. Whitaker survived until the end of this round, and in the middle of the seventh he found, perhaps, the only acceptable way out of this situation for himself and refused to resume fighting, claiming that he was hindered by a cut over the right eye. However, there will definitely not be any discussion about what would happen if Whitaker continued to fight. It was clear that in any case there would have been the knockout - only much more embarrassing. And the same congratulations to Ibragimov from his team led by the famous coach Panama Lewis. And the same kiss on the cheek from the friend who, of course, came to watch the fight - Mike Tyson.

	~~<big>'''Sultan Becomes Tyson's Successor'''</big>~~

	~~<small>By Konstantin Osipov, ''Gazeta in Russian'', December 16, 2005</small>~~

	~~Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov scored a dominant victory over the formidable American Lance Whitaker, nicknamed "The Mount", by technical knockout in the seventh round.~~

	~~The victory, amazing for the domestic boxing, took place today at about seven o'clock in the morning Moscow time in the city of Hollywood (Florida), in the ring of the famous Hard Rock Casino.~~

	Sultan had an exciting and spectacular fight, which, according to experts, might already be a candidate to be the top-10 fight of the year. Right from opening bell, Ibragimov picked up a crazy pace, which stumped Whitaker. And already in the first round, Sultan sent Lance to the canvas. "The Mount" was knocked down twice more, in the sixth and seventh rounds. In these moments, all the eyewitnesses had only one question in mind - would Sultan be able to keep such a crazy pace to the end. Or maybe it's experienced Whitaker being smart and letting the Russian spend himself out and get tired?

	~~Whitaker's corner threw in the towel due to an allegedly severe cut over the left eyebrow.~~

	Since it was a title fight, Ibragimov defended his WBO Asia-Pacific heavyweight title for the sixth time. Sultan won the WBO Asia-Pacific championship on October 16, 2004, knocking out Najee Shaheed in the third round. It's not hard to count that over the past year our hero has made six (!) title defenses, defeating opponents in all these fights inside the distance. In total, in the professional ring, the silver medalist of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney won 19 fights, 16 by knockout, and he still does not know a defeat.

	~~So far, he is ranked fifth in the World Boxing Organization's heavyweight rankings, but a victory over Whitaker in Hollywood will certainly lift Ibragimov several steps higher in the rankings.~~

	Interestingly, one of the first to jump into the ring to congratulate the champion was the legendary fighter Mike Tyson. With all his heart, "Iron Mike" even kissed Sultan. Maybe Tyson saw his worthy successor in Ibragimov? In general, the emotions of the show's participants at Hard Rock Casino were clearly overwhelming. How else could we explain that a distinguished boxing coach Panama Lewis was transported to the hospital during the fight.

	The details of the hospitalization of Ibragimov's coach have not yet been clarified. But because of this, the main event between Sam Peter and Robert Hawkins, which followed immediately after Ibragimov's show, was interrupted for fifteen minutes.

	The fight between Peter and Hawkins was frankly a boring and sluggish fight between two heavyweights for the NABA title. It took all ten rounds to determine the winner here. Let us explain here that international boxing organizations allow the "national" championship bouts to last, according to the regulations, ten rounds instead of twelve. In the end, the judges gave the championship belt to Peter with scores of 99:90 (twice) and 98:91. Thus, the Nigerian, speaking in boxing slang, "closed" the recent defeat to Wladimir Klitschko. Although Peter himself was probably unhappy with his form against Hawkins. One can only wonder why the organizers of this show in Hollywood put the boring pushing between Peter and Hawkins, and not Ibragimov's exciting clash, as the main event of the program.

	~~But now, after knocking out Lance Whitaker himself, the promoters of any card that will follow will consider the Russian heavyweight Ibragimov as the main protagonist of the event.~~

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-07-14T20:16:42Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:16, 14 July 2023
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	<fight>1021861</fight>		<fight>1021861</fight>
	==Notes==		==Notes==
			*Ibragimov ranked No.6 heavyweight contender by the WBO; Whitaker ranked 9th.
	*A heated face-off prior to the fight turned into a brawl between two fighters, with members of both boxers' teams joining in to help their man.		*A heated face-off prior to the fight turned into a brawl between two fighters, with members of both boxers' teams joining in to help their man.
	*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.		*Whitaker was the heaviest opponent of Ibragimov's career, outweighing the Russian by 52.5 pounds.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-07-01T19:31:02Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:31, 1 July 2023
Line 17:		Line 17:
	This huge - two meters tall (a head taller than the Russian) - heavyweight nicknamed The Mountain has long been included in the elite category. By the age of 33, he fought with a lot of good heavyweights. And a lot of them, for example, Monte Barrett, Al Cole and Oleg Maskaev, he defeated. Lance Whitaker was confident that he could beat Ibragimov as well. And the November incident at the presentation of the fight, when the American brought his fist too close to the enemy's head, Ibragimov hit him in response and a fight ensued (the third person suffered the most, as is usually the case; the third person that day was manager Samson Levkowitz, who was knocked out), only angered him more and made him paint his inevitable triumph with even more juicy and offensive phrases towards the opponent.		This huge - two meters tall (a head taller than the Russian) - heavyweight nicknamed The Mountain has long been included in the elite category. By the age of 33, he fought with a lot of good heavyweights. And a lot of them, for example, Monte Barrett, Al Cole and Oleg Maskaev, he defeated. Lance Whitaker was confident that he could beat Ibragimov as well. And the November incident at the presentation of the fight, when the American brought his fist too close to the enemy's head, Ibragimov hit him in response and a fight ensued (the third person suffered the most, as is usually the case; the third person that day was manager Samson Levkowitz, who was knocked out), only angered him more and made him paint his inevitable triumph with even more juicy and offensive phrases towards the opponent.

	That's because Whitaker did not know what he was going to face, what he was going to endure. It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive ~~image~~ of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. It was the first knockdown.		That's because Whitaker did not know what he was going to face, what he was going to endure. It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive position of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. It was the first knockdown.

	Another happened in the second round. And many boxers in Whitaker's position, for sure, realizing that they would not be able to offer anything of their own to the opponent, would have refused to continue the fight. But not him - too strong and too ambitious to be broken even by a couple of knockdowns. Whitaker caught blows from Ibragimov again and again, but for some reason he smiled in response and even shouted something to the enemy, as if trying to convince himself that he could still fight him.		Another happened in the second round. And many boxers in Whitaker's position, for sure, realizing that they would not be able to offer anything of their own to the opponent, would have refused to continue the fight. But not him - too strong and too ambitious to be broken even by a couple of knockdowns. Whitaker caught blows from Ibragimov again and again, but for some reason he smiled in response and even shouted something to the enemy, as if trying to convince himself that he could still fight him.

Artur128: /* Notes */

2023-07-01T19:30:31Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:30, 1 July 2023
Line 17:		Line 17:
	This huge - two meters tall (a head taller than the Russian) - heavyweight nicknamed The Mountain has long been included in the elite category. By the age of 33, he fought with a lot of good heavyweights. And a lot of them, for example, Monte Barrett, Al Cole and Oleg Maskaev, he defeated. Lance Whitaker was confident that he could beat Ibragimov as well. And the November incident at the presentation of the fight, when the American brought his fist too close to the enemy's head, Ibragimov hit him in response and a fight ensued (the third person suffered the most, as is usually the case; the third person that day was manager Samson Levkowitz, who was knocked out), only angered him more and made him paint his inevitable triumph with even more juicy and offensive phrases towards the opponent.		This huge - two meters tall (a head taller than the Russian) - heavyweight nicknamed The Mountain has long been included in the elite category. By the age of 33, he fought with a lot of good heavyweights. And a lot of them, for example, Monte Barrett, Al Cole and Oleg Maskaev, he defeated. Lance Whitaker was confident that he could beat Ibragimov as well. And the November incident at the presentation of the fight, when the American brought his fist too close to the enemy's head, Ibragimov hit him in response and a fight ensued (the third person suffered the most, as is usually the case; the third person that day was manager Samson Levkowitz, who was knocked out), only angered him more and made him paint his inevitable triumph with even more juicy and offensive phrases towards the opponent.

	That's because Whitaker did not know what he was going to face, what he was going to endure. It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy ~~heavy weights~~, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive image of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. It was the first knockdown.		That's because Whitaker did not know what he was going to face, what he was going to endure. It must be assumed that the public, accustomed in recent years to clumsy heavyweights, should have been delighted with Ibragimov, who immediately rushed into the attack, unleashing a cannonade of blows on the American's torso. Whitaker - with all his widely recognized skill - instantly appeared in the unattractive image of a punching bag. And when he tried to get out of it and throw punches himself, he ran into even more trouble in the form of a hard counter left. It was the first knockdown.

	Another happened in the second round. And many boxers in Whitaker's position, for sure, realizing that they would not be able to offer anything of their own to the opponent, would have refused to continue the fight. But not him - too strong and too ambitious to be broken even by a couple of knockdowns. Whitaker caught blows from Ibragimov again and again, but for some reason he smiled in response and even shouted something to the enemy, as if trying to convince himself that he could still fight him.		Another happened in the second round. And many boxers in Whitaker's position, for sure, realizing that they would not be able to offer anything of their own to the opponent, would have refused to continue the fight. But not him - too strong and too ambitious to be broken even by a couple of knockdowns. Whitaker caught blows from Ibragimov again and again, but for some reason he smiled in response and even shouted something to the enemy, as if trying to convince himself that he could still fight him.