Klitschko vs Pulev title bout date rescheduled to November 15
The fight between Bulgarian challenger Koubrat Pulev and Ukrainian defending heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF boxing title will take place in Hamburg’s O2 World arena on November 15.
Initially scheduled for September 6 at the same location, the fight had to be postponed after Klitschko suffered a torn biceps muscle in training last week. The arena had been sold out for weeks and all tickets remain valid for the new date.
The new date has now been confirmed on Twitter by Pulev’s promoter, Sauerland, and by Klitschko in a video posted on YouTube. Initial reports said Klitschko was advised to take four weeks off from sparring, but he said that he hoped to be back in training in “a couple of weeks”.
Klitschko, aged 38, currently holds the IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles, having successfully defended them in the last 16 matches, the third longest streak in history (although some pundits attribute his domination more to the weak field of challengers rather than his own prowess.) He has held the IBF title since 2006, adding the WBO title in 2008 and the WBA one in 2011.
A former European heavyweight champion, Pulev has a 20-0 record since turning professional, with 11 of those wins coming by knockout. He achieved mandatory challenger status from the International Boxing Federation (IBF) in August 2013, after defeating American boxer Tony Thompson.
(Klitschko vs Pulev fight poster via klitschko-brothers.com)