Evander Holyfield Defeated By Sultan Ibragimov In Heavyweight Title Fight – October 13, 2007 (This Day In Boxing History)

Sultan Ibragimov was the one who put Evander Holyfield’s mission for a fifth heavyweight title to a stop.

Ibragimov (22-1-1, 17 KOs) beat Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KOs) by unanimous decision in his first defense of his WBO heavyweight title.

“It was a great fight. He got the decision and I have to go back to the drawing board,” Holyfield said after the fight. “He’s a left-handed fighter, and moves a lot. I did the best that I could with the style that he had.”

The Russian boxer outboxed Holyfield by landed 40 percent of his punches to Holyfield’s 14 percent. Holyfield was just a week away from turning 45 at the time of the fight.

It was Holyfield’s 23rd title matchup in his 20-year heavyweight career.

It was Ibragimov’s faster hands and feet that helped him outpoint the Hall of Fame boxer.