Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov is a Russian former professional boxer of Dagestani descent.
55 Facts About Sultan Ibragimov
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Sultan Ibragimov competed from 2002 to 2008, and held the WBO world heavyweight title from 2007 to 2008.
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Sultan Ibragimov was ranked by BoxRec as the world's seventh best active heavyweight in 2005 and 2006, and sixth in 2007 and 2008.
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Sultan Ibragimov remains one of only five former world heavyweight champions, alongside Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano, Riddick Bowe and Nikolai Valuev to have never suffered a stoppage defeat.
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Sultan Ibragimov holds the second least career losses among former world heavyweight champions, having only lost to Wladimir Klitschko in his final fight.
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Sultan Ibragimov took up boxing at the age of 17, when he came to Rostov-on-Don and joined a local college, training under a tutelage of Anatoly Chernyayev.
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Sultan Ibragimov was supported by the Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov.
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Sultan Ibragimov made his professional boxing debut on 25 May 2002, defeating Tracy Williams by first-round knockout.
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Just two weeks after his fourth bout, Sultan Ibragimov defeated Lincoln Luke by second-round TKO in what would be his last fight in 2002.
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Sultan Ibragimov was being knocked down but kept moving forward.
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Sultan Ibragimov praised Ibragimov for his talent and boxing IQ, and predicted Ibragimov to become a future world heavyweight champion.
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Sultan Ibragimov had his next fight less than a month later against Brazilian journeyman Carlos Barcelete.
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Sultan Ibragimov made a quick work of Barcelete, sending him to the canvas in the 2nd and knocking him out in the following round with a left hook.
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Sultan Ibragimov then returned to the United States, defeating Onebo Maxime by fifth-round TKO.
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Less than two months later, Ibragimov faced Najee Shaheed in a 12-round bout for the WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title as part of the double-header which featured Timur Ibragimov against Shawn Robinson.
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Sultan Ibragimov then took a big step up in competition when he agreed to face former IBF world cruiserweight champion Al Cole on 3 March 2005.
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Sultan Ibragimov then claimed that both Sultan and Timur would fight for championship belts by the end of the year.
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Cole got up, but Sultan Ibragimov immediately followed up with a barrage of unanswered shots, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
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Sultan Ibragimov had his next fight scheduled just one and a half month later against one of the more recognized American journeymen Zuri Lawrence.
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Sultan Ibragimov knocked him down once in the fourth and twice more in the ninth.
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Sultan Ibragimov defended his WBO Asia Pacific title for the fourth time on 24 June 2005, defeating Andy Sample by first-round TKO in the main event of the card co-headlined by the Sultan Ibragimov boxers for the fifth time in a row.
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On 16 September 2005 Sultan Ibragimov faced his former sparring partner and once-highly regarded prospect Friday Ahunanya at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia.
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Sultan Ibragimov changed the strategy in the later rounds, working mostly Ahunanya's body.
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Sultan Ibragimov soundly outlanded Ahunanya in every round but seventh, and he connected on more power punches in each round.
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Some observers viewed the fight as a big step up in competition for Sultan Ibragimov, describing Whitaker as the first true heavyweight contender Sultan Ibragimov had faced in his career up to that date.
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Sultan Ibragimov knocked Whitaker down in the first round with a counter left hook, and then sent him to the canvas again in the second, this time with a flurry of shots.
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Sultan Ibragimov continued fighting aggressively, hurting Whitaker several times in the opening rounds.
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In round four and five, Sultan Ibragimov appeared to have taken his foot off the gas, fighting mostly in a counterpunching manner.
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Sultan Ibragimov picked up his pace in the sixth round, sending Whitaker to the canvas for the third time with another flurry of shots.
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In early 2006, Sultan Ibragimov's team began negotiations with former WBA world heavyweight champion John Ruiz for a potential IBF world heavyweight title eliminator fight, however the fight did not materialize after Ruiz opted to face Nikolai Valuev in a rematch for the WBA world title.
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Rounds five and six were relatively tentative, with Sultan Ibragimov occasionally hurting Austin with fast combinations, while Austin continued to work behind the jab.
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Sultan Ibragimov was more active in round nine but was sent to the canvas in the tenth with a left hook, however Sultan Ibragimov unhurt.
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Sultan Ibragimov outlanded Austin in five rounds out of twelve, with two rounds being even in terms of landed shots.
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Sultan Ibragimov landed more power punches in rounds 1,3,4,6,9,11 and 12, with 2nd round being even.
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The debate over IBF's mantadory challenger spot ended when Sultan Ibragimov agreed to face Shannon Briggs for the WBO world heavyweight title.
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Sultan Ibragimov was scheduled to challenge Shannon Briggs for the WBO world heavyweight title on 10 March 2007 at Madison Square Garden in New York, however the fight was postponed after Briggs fell ill with pneumonia.
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Sultan Ibragimov claimed that one of his American trainers had warned him two months before the scheduled date that Briggs was going to pull out as he didn't want to fight against a southpaw.
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Sultan Ibragimov instead opted to face Javier Mora in a stay-busy fight.
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Sultan Ibragimov knocked out Mora 46 seconds into the first round.
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Sultan Ibragimov eventually agreed to face Shannon Briggs for the WBO world heavyweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey on 2 June 2007.
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Shortly after winning the title, Sultan Ibragimov signed the contract to face then-WBA world heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev in a unification showdown that would take place in Moscow on 13 October 2007.
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Sultan Ibragimov predicted the winner of this fight to eventually become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
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Sultan Ibragimov appeared to be unwilling to end the fight inside the distance as he didn't want to give Holyfield an opportunity to land a game-changing counter punch.
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The championship rounds saw Holyfield unsuccessfully going for the knockout, as Sultan Ibragimov was able to effectively neutralize Holyfield's offense and hurt Holyfield with precise body shots.
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Ultimately, the fight went full twelve rounds, with Sultan Ibragimov being declared the winner by unanimous decision, successfully defending his WBO world heavyweight title.
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Sultan Ibragimov expressed his doubt whether he wanted to resume his boxing career.
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On 20 November, Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov officially signed the contract for their unification clash to take place on 23 February 2008 at Madison Square Garden.
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The day before the bout, Sultan Ibragimov weighed in at 219 pounds, his lightest since 2005, while Klitschko's weight was 238 pounds, the lightest since 1999.
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Klitschko retreated onto the outside, fighting at a distance and remaining unattainable for Sultan Ibragimov who tried to establish his right jab but had his right hand constantly pushed down by Klitschko.
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Sultan Ibragimov's corner was almost silent from the sixth round onwards, unable to give their man any meaningful advice.
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Sultan Ibragimov was caught again with a counter left hook at the end of the eleventh.
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The twelfth round saw Sultan Ibragimov unsuccessfully trying to catch Klitschko with overhand shots.
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Ultimately, the fight went the distance, with Sultan Ibragimov losing by unanimous decision.
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In 2016, Sultan Ibragimov stated that his decision to retire was caused by chronic problems with his left hand, including multiple fractures.
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Sultan Ibragimov is of Avar Dagestani descent, and is Muslim by faith.