Artur128: /* Notes */

2026-03-28T15:31:07Z

Notes

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	*22,000 people were in attendance.[https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/klitschko-verteidigt-wm-titel-muehelos-172654311121]		*22,000 people were in attendance.[https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/klitschko-verteidigt-wm-titel-muehelos-172654311121]

	<big>'''~~Wladimir Klitschko retains belts~~'''</big>		<big>'''Wlad Already Heavyweight Royalty'''</big>

	<small>~~Associated Press~~, July 7, 2012</small>		<small>[[Dan Rafael]], ESPN, July 7, 2012</small>
	[[File:Klitschko-Thompson II 148006931.jpg\|300px\|right]]		[[File:Klitschko-Thompson II 148006931.jpg\|300px\|right]]
	[[File:Klitschko-Thompson II 148006637.jpg\|300px\|right]]		[[File:Klitschko-Thompson II 148006637.jpg\|300px\|right]]
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	BERN, Switzerland -- Wladimir Klitschko stopped Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night.		BERN, Switzerland -- Wladimir Klitschko stopped Tony Thompson in the sixth round to keep a comfortable hold on his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles Saturday night.

	The ~~36-year-old~~ champion Klitschko, ~~58-3 with 51 knockouts~~, ~~floored~~ Thompson ~~with~~ a ~~big right hand near the end~~ of the ~~fifth round at Stade de Suisse, and the 40-~~year~~-old American never recovered~~.		The outcome came as little surprise when heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, a massive favorite as always, smashed Tony Thompson in a rematch that took place only because one of the sanctioning organizations made Thompson a mandatory challenger based on a victory against journeyman Maurice Harris that happened more than a year ago.

	~~The Ukrainian champion dropped Thompson again~~ in the ~~sixth,~~ and ~~referee Sam Williams gave the challenger~~ a ~~standing count before stopping the fight~~ at 2:56.		Klitschko did as he pleased. He thoroughly dominated the entire fight Saturday before dropping the American with a clean right hand -- his best punch -- in the fifth round and whacking him out with a series of shots at 2 minutes, 56 seconds of the sixth round at the Stade de Suisse, a 30,000-plus-seat outdoor soccer stadium in Berne, Switzerland.

	"Thompson was ~~not so easy~~ to ~~box. I'm satisfied," Klitschko said~~.		The fans got what they came for, Klitschko added yet another chapter to his growing legacy, and the 40-year-old Thompson -- who made it to his feet after the final knockdown but was in zero condition to continue -- got his big-payday golden parachute.

	~~In 2008~~, Klitschko ~~stopped Thompson~~ in the 11th round.		Thompson (36-3, 24 KOs) had given Klitschko at least some competition in their 2008 mandatory bout -- although not much -- before being knocked out in the 11th round. He put up far less of a fight this time around, even though he had two good knees, unlike when he was hampered by a right knee injury he suffered in training camp before their first fight.

	Thompson, the ~~mandatory challenger nominated by the IBF~~, ~~fell to 36-3 (24 KOs)~~.		Thompson had promised to be aggressive, but he wasn't. Trainer Barry Hunter begged him to double and triple up with his right jab. He wouldn't or, most likely, couldn't because he didn't like the fury coming back at him. And even though Thompson was fairly busy with his punches compared to most Klitschko opponents, he barely landed anything, much less anything of note. What little he did land had very little steam.

	~~After the fight~~, Klitschko ~~led~~ the ~~crowd~~ of ~~22,000 in signing "Happy Birthday"~~ to ~~trainer Emanuel Steward, who turned 68~~ on ~~Saturday~~.		Meanwhile, Klitschko shredded him to make the 12th title defense (10th by knockout) of his second reign and continue to show that he is best big man on the planet.

	~~"Tony Thompson~~ is ~~very hard~~ to ~~hit," Steward said~~. ~~"Tony was watching Wladimir's right hand all night."~~		There is little left for Klitschko to accomplish after dispatching one top-10 foe after another during his six-year championship reign.

	~~A cagey opening round was followed by~~ a ~~scrappy second, as Klitschko twice wrestled Thompson to the floor~~.		He has been the best amateur in the world; he won a 1996 Olympic super heavyweight gold medal.

	~~Thompson briefly stepped up~~ his ~~cautious tactics when landing~~ a ~~left to Klitschko's face in the third~~.		As a professional, he is the best heavyweight of his (admittedly weak) era and a Hall of Fame lock.

	Klitschko ~~finally landed a long~~, ~~straight right in the fifth, and the round ended with Thompson struggling on the ropes~~.		Klitschko doesn't like questions about his legacy and shies away from any direct discussion about it, although he does acknowledge that it is important to him.

	~~The champion cornered Thompson toward~~ the ~~end~~ of ~~the sixth,~~ and ~~landed punches~~ to ~~the head though no single blow appeared~~ to ~~cause serious damage~~.		A few days before the fight, I interviewed Klitschko and rattled off some of his statistics and where they ranked in relation to other all-time great heavyweights. Klitschko, as politely as he could, said simply that he wasn't interested in hearing about it. He said we could talk about it after he retired. (I'll hold him to that.)

	~~"I got caught but I'm OK~~,~~" Thompson said~~ in the ~~ring~~. ~~"He~~'s ~~strong and he's world~~ heavyweight ~~champion for a reason~~."		But the fact is, if you look at any list of historical statistical comparisons of the top heavyweights in history, Klitschko ranks right up there on all the lists along with legends such as Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and Jack Dempsey. That's heavyweight royalty, where Klitschko now resides.

	Klitschko ~~extended the domination of~~ the ~~heavyweight ranks he shares with his older brother, Vitali~~.		It doesn't matter if you're talking about knockout percentage, title defenses, record, length of reign, whatever. Klitschko is near the top in every single category.

	~~Vitali was in his brother's corner as usual~~, and ~~acted as cheerleader in the third round, urging~~ on ~~fans in the soccer stadium when the first chants of "Klitschko! Klistchko! stirred~~.		In championship fights, he is 19-2 with 16 knockouts and on Saturday moved his overall record to 58-3 with 51 knockouts.

	~~The elder~~ Klitschko will ~~defend~~ his ~~WBC title~~ against Manuel Charr of ~~Germany~~ in ~~Moscow on Sept~~. 8. [http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/~~8139047~~/wladimir-klitschko-~~stops-tony-thompson-6th-round-retain-world~~-heavyweight-~~belts~~]		And there isn't a legit threat to him at the moment, especially when you consider he and his older brother, fellow titleholder Vitali Klitschko, are adamant that they will never fight each other because of a promise they made to their mother. You can't go back on your word to mom.

			There are two possible goals left for Wladimir to strive for, the same goals that have been sitting there for him following other recent dominant victories:

			* He can wait until his brother retires, which might happen after Vitali's September defense in Moscow against Manuel Charr (especially if Vitali wins a parliament seat in the Ukraine elections in October), and go after that version of the title. Wladimir would love nothing more than to own all of the major belts, and that's the only one missing from his collection. Grabbing that last belt is something he wants, too, even if he won't say it publicly.

			* He can also just keep lining 'em up and knocking 'em down with a long-range goal of breaking the hallowed consecutive title defenses record -- for any division -- of 25, set by the great Louis. With one more defense, Klitschko will be more than halfway home. He's only 36 (not old for heavyweights these days), is in top physical condition, hasn't been in any tough fights for years and remains as good and as committed to boxing as he ever has been.

			It won't be easy to get to 25, and maybe it's just fantasy. It would certainly help Klitschko's cause if he could be a little more active. I don't think it's too much to ask him to fight three times a year. Even four times shouldn't be out of the question when he is blowing opponents out and trains year-round.

			In fact, some of the people in Klitschko's inner circle believe that he is still getting better even after everything he has already accomplished.

			That is a scary thought. A very scary thought.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120709095132/http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/8139523/no-denying-wladimir-klitschko-already-heavyweight-royalty]

Artur128 at 20:59, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:59:05Z

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	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~31.10.2011 \|\| 02-08.11.2011		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~31.10.2011 \|\| 02-08.11.2011
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10~~.12~~.2011 \|\| ~10~~.12~~.2011		\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 01.10.2011 \|\| by 19.10.2011
	\|-		\|-
	\| Ring \|\| NR \|\| 07.11.2011 \|\| by 16.12.2011		\| Ring \|\| NR \|\| 07.11.2011 \|\| by 16.12.2011

Artur128 at 20:56, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:56:00Z

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	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~30.11.2011 \|\| by 06.01.2012		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~30.11.2011 \|\| by 06.01.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10.01.2012 \|\| 23.01.2012		\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10.01.2012 \|\| 07-13.01.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| Ring \|\| NR \|\| 19.12.2011 \|\| by 22.01.2012		\| Ring \|\| NR \|\| 19.12.2011 \|\| by 22.01.2012

Artur128 at 20:54, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:54:44Z

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	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| 07.02.2012 \|\| 06-15.02.2012		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| 07.02.2012 \|\| 06-15.02.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10.02.2012 \|\| 13.02.2012		\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10.02.2012 \|\| 04-13.02.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| Ring \|\| NR \|\| 20.02.2012 \|\| by 24.02.2012		\| Ring \|\| NR \|\| 20.02.2012 \|\| by 24.02.2012

Artur128 at 20:31, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:31:59Z

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	\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.10.2011 \|\| 29.10-11.11.2011		\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.10.2011 \|\| 29.10-11.11.2011
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 23.12.2011 \|\| 23-24.12.2011		\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| ~01.11.2011 \|\| 21.10-14.11.2011
	\|-		\|-
	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~31.10.2011 \|\| 02-08.11.2011		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~31.10.2011 \|\| 02-08.11.2011

Artur128 at 20:17, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:17:03Z

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	\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.12.2011 \|\| 31.12.2011-14.01.2012		\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.12.2011 \|\| 31.12.2011-14.01.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 23.12.2011 \|\| 23~~-24~~.12.2011		\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 23.12.2011 \|\| 23.12.2011-11.01.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~30.11.2011 \|\| by 06.01.2012		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| ~30.11.2011 \|\| by 06.01.2012

Artur128 at 20:16, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:16:43Z

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	\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.01.2012 \|\| 20.01-08.02.2012		\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.01.2012 \|\| 20.01-08.02.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 04.02.2012 \|\| 04-11.02.2012		\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 04.02.2012 \|\| 04-23.02.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| 07.02.2012 \|\| 06-15.02.2012		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| 07.02.2012 \|\| 06-15.02.2012

Artur128 at 18:06, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T18:06:23Z

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	! colspan="4"\| 3+ Mth. Old		! colspan="4"\| 3+ Mth. Old
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.10.2011 \|\| 29.10-13.11.2011		\| WBA \|\| NR \|\| 31.10.2011 \|\| 29.10-11.11.2011
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 23.12.2011 \|\| 23-24.12.2011		\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 23.12.2011 \|\| 23-24.12.2011

Artur128 at 17:55, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T17:55:01Z

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	[[File:KlitschkoThompson2poster.jpg\|300px\|right]]		[[File:KlitschkoThompson2poster.jpg\|300px\|right]]
	<fight>1684641</fight>		<fight>1684641</fight>
	*'''Aired on:''' [[RTL]] (Germany), SRF Zwei (Switzerland), [[Inter]] (Ukraine)		*'''Aired on:''' [[RTL]] (Germany), SRF Zwei (Switzerland)[https://www.bzbasel.ch/sport/samstag-sf-2-ld.685851], [[Inter]] (Ukraine)

	*'''[[International Boxing Federation]] Heavyweight Title''' (12th defense by Klitschko)		*'''[[International Boxing Federation]] Heavyweight Title''' (12th defense by Klitschko)

Artur128 at 17:42, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T17:42:32Z

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	\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 04.02.2012 \|\| 04-11.02.2012		\| WBC \|\| NR \|\| 04.02.2012 \|\| 04-11.02.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| 07.02.2012 \|\| 04-15.02.2012		\| IBF \|\| 1 \|\| 07.02.2012 \|\| 06-15.02.2012
	\|-		\|-
	\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10.02.2012 \|\| 13.02.2012		\| WBO \|\| NR \|\| 10.02.2012 \|\| 13.02.2012

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson (2nd meeting) - Revision history