Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол� ...

vs.

Corrie Sanders Cornelius Johannes "Corrie" Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, wh ...

, billed as The Next Big Thing was a professional boxing match contested on 8 March 2003 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship.

Background

Since

beating Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

Chris Byrd Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over th ...

to win the WBO belt, Wladimir Klitschko had made five successful defences, all of which ended before the final round, and was ranked as the No.1 heavyweight contender by ''The Ring'' ( WBC champion

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

was the magazine's champion). After failing to reach agreements with

Kirk Johnson Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the World Boxing Association, WBA heavyweight title in 2002. Amateur career Johnson represented Canada at ...

Fres Oquendo Fres Oquendo (born April 1, 1973) is a Puerto Rican professional heavyweight boxer. He had a successful amateur record before turning professional in 1997. He has challenged three times for world heavyweight titles. Amateur career He had an amat ...

, Lou Savarese and Danny Williams, Universum Box Promotion ultimately signed a 4-fight contract with

, who was ranked No.9 contender by the WBO at the time. According to the agreement, Sanders's first fight was going to be for the WBO world heavyweight title. Since a knockout loss to

Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...

in May 2000, Sanders had only fought in a total of three rounds in the intervening two years and nine months.

The fight

With thirty seconds left in the opening round, Wladimir threw a jab that Sanders countered with a big left hook, prompting Klitschko to enter a clinch. While in the clinch, Sanders landed another left hook that sent Klitschko to the canvas. Klitschko got up but was dropped again almost immediately. The following round, Sanders continued his assault on a visibly hurt Klitschko, dropping him twice more at the beginning of the round. The referee waived it off after the fourth knockdown.

Aftermath

In December 2003 Sanders vacated the WBO belt after refusing to fight the organization's No.1 contender

Lamon Brewster Lamon Tajuan Brewster (born June 5, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 2004 to 2006, and is best known for scoring an upset knockout victory over Wladimir Klitsc ...

. The following year he faced Klitschko's brother

Vitali Vitali, Vitalii, Vitaly, Vitaliy and may refer to: People Given name * Vitaly Borker (born 1975 or 1976), Ukrainian American Internet fraudster and cyberbully * Vitaly Churkin (1952–2017), Russian politician * Vitaly Ginzburg (1916–2009), Russ ...

for the WBC championship, which was left vacant after the retirement of

. Vitali stopped Sanders in the 8th round. Sanders had four fights before retiring with a loss in 2008. Wladimir had two more quick knockout victories before facing Lamon Brewster for the vacant WBO belt, however he was once again upset by the underdog.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Broadcasting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klitschko W, Sanders 2003 in boxing 2003 in German sport March 2003 sports events in Germany Boxing matches in Germany Sanders World Boxing Organization heavyweight championship matches Boxing on HBO Boxing on Sky Sports