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Two Olympic Gold Medallists will square off for the heavyweight championship! Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion, will defend his titles against IBF. no. 1 ranked Alexander Povetkin on December 13 in the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany.
Povetkin, the 29-year-old Russian known as the “White Lion,“ captured Olympic Gold at the 2004 Games in Athens, while Klitschko copped the Gold Medal in 1996 in Atlanta.
Povetkin is unbeaten in his 16 professional fights with 12 wins by KO and the IBF top ranked challenger. “I will get that belt,” said Povetkin. “It is my turn, I am the future.”
The 32-year-old Klitschko is facing his 15th world championship fight. Klitschko, who held the WBO championship from 2000 – 2003, returns to the scene where he captured the IBF and IBO titles in 2006, scoring a technical knockout over Chris Byrd. In February 2008, he regained the WBO world championship when he beat Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden in New York. His record is 51-3 (45).
Said Klitschko: “Alexander Povetkin is a very strong opponent. Both of us are Olympic champions. The fans can expect a great fight. I have good memories at SAP Arena where I became world champion for the second time. The fans in the Mannheim area are great.”
In Germany, the fight will be shown live and exclusively on RTL. HBO will broadcast the championship in the U.S.
Tickets for the Klitschko – Povetkin fight on December, 13, will be available beginning Monday, October, 20, 2008. Box office will be opened from 8 a.m. at the SAP Arena, entrance A and B. On the internet you can purchase tickets at www.saparena.de, via the ticket hotline +49 621 – 1819 0 333, at the ticketshop at the SAP ARENA, at Engelhorn Sport in Mannheim and at all local ticket agencies.
