The IBF has granted heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko an exception to fight Tony Thompson, 31-1 (19), the WBO mandatory challenger. The fight is expected to take place during July in Germany, on a date and site to be determined, it was announced today by K2 Promotions’ Tom Loeffler, and Klitschko Management Group’s managing director Bernd Boente.

Klitschko holds three belts – the IBF, IBO and WBO titles – on the strength of his unanimous 12 round decision over Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden last February 23. More...