The Cyber Boxing Zone Newswire |
| Wladimir Klitschko Wins WBA Continental Title: Fabian Weber |
Dusseldorf - 18 July 1999. Ukrainian Heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko captured the vacant WBA Continental Title last night with a stoppage after four rounds over Joseph Chingangu from Zambia. The tall 2,00m (6ft 7in) Olympic Champion of Atlanta dominated the fight from the beginning and didn't give the African a chance to land a meaningful punch. Going to work very economicaly Klitschko dictated the fight with his powerful left jab and ocasionaly unloaded combinations of multiple punches to the head and to the body of his opponent, who, standing a solid 1,92m (6ft 4in) himself, was both outclassed and outsized. In round one Klitschko followed a jab with a right to the body and another left to the head, a combination that seriously rocked the 32-year-old Chingangu. In round two Klitschko dropped his opponent to the canvas, when the African rushed forward with a wild attack and the Ukrainian landed a hook in revers. However the referee called it a slip. After suffering more punishment in rounds three and four, the usualy durable Chingangu, who went twelve rounds against British Champion Julius Francis in 1997, refused to come out of his corner to answer the bell to round five. Wladimir Klitschko (107 kg / 236 lb) improved his record to 28-1 (26 KO4s), whereas Chingangu (106 kg / 233,5 lb) dropped to 14-5 (10 KO4s). Wladimir is the younger brother of Vitali Klitschko, who just won the WBO World Heavyweight Championship from Englishman Herbie Hide. "This was an important fight for me", Klitschko said at the post-fight press conference. "It was my final tuneup for my showdown against Axel Schulz. It was important for me that I don't suffer an injury tonight." "In Germany and in the Urkaine people are waiting for a fight between me and Schulz for a long time. Axel is no easy opponent and I promise that it will be a highly interesting contest." The fight between Klitschko and Schulz will take place on 25 September at the huge arena of Cologna. It is rumoured that the referee of that contest could be the impartial Belgium Daniel van de Wiele, perhaps the most reputable referee in Europe.
Fabian Weber |
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