Saturday night in Hamburg, Germany,
heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko defends his crown against
undefeated Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria. Pulev is a former Olympian who can
match Klitschko in physical stature. This could be the champ’s toughest
defense in years.
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HBO BOXING AFTER DARK begins early with a special presentation
of a heavyweight title showdown when WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO VS. KUBRAT PULEV
is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 15 at 4:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT),
exclusively on HBO, with an encore presentation later that day at
midnight (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team will capture all the action, which
will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired
and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
After suffering an injury during training camp, WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO Heavyweight Champion
Wladimir Klitschko pulled out of his September 6 fight against Kubrat
Pulev. Klitschko’s camp announced today that the fight has been
rescheduled to November 15. The venue of the fight remains the O2 World
Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
“I am delighted that the title defense
can still take place in Hamburg. The atmosphere here is always
gigantic,” Klitschko said in a statement. “Due to the injury, I am
taking a break from training now and will then start again with the
preparation for the fight against Kubrat Pulev.”
At 38 years old, Klitschko (62-3, 53 KOs)
has tallied 16 successful title defenses, which ranks him third behind
Joe Louis (25) and Larry Holmes (20).
Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs), 33, hails from
Bulgaria, and is the former European Heavyweight Champion. Pulev earned
his shot at Klitschko’s titles by scoring a unanimous decision over
American heavyweight Tony Thompson last year.
Reigning world heavyweight champion
Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 53 KOs), originally from Ukraine and now
fighting primarily in Germany, puts his championship belts on the line
against Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs), from Sofia, Bulgaria, in a
scheduled 12-round title bout from the O2 World Arena in Hamburg,
Germany. In his 19th appearance on HBO, the 38-year-old Klitschko will
be seeking his 17th consecutive successful heavyweight title defense,
which would rank as the third-most behind legendary heavyweight champs
Joe Louis, who had 25, and Larry Holmes, with 20.
Pulev, 33, is undefeated as a pro
following an amateur career in which he won several European tournaments
and gold medals. In Aug. 2013, he defeated American Tony Thompson in a
title elimination contest, paving the way to this showdown.
“Fight fans recognize the history,
mystique and legacy of the heavyweight championship, and we are
delighted to present the world’s premier heavyweight, Wladimir
Klitsckho, live on HBO,” says Peter Nelson, vice president, HBO Sports
Programming. “Wladimir represents all the great qualities that one
embraces in sport. We are looking forward to televising his 17th world
title defense live.”
Also that day, HBO Latino presents an
exclusive doubleheader from San Antonio at 9:45 p.m. (live
ET/tape-delayed PT), when Gilberto Ramirez (29-0, 23 KOs) takes on
Fulgencio Zuniga (27-9-1, 24 KOs) in a super middleweight bout and Oscar
Valdez (13-0, 11 KOs) goes up against Alberto Garza (26-8-1, 21 KOs) in
a middleweight contest.
Follow HBO Boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
All HBO boxing events are presented in
HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO
programming in high definition.
