Wladimir Klitschko to defend titles against Alex Leapai in Oberhausen, Germany on April 26
WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO and „The Ring Magazine“ World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his titles against WBO #1 and mandatory challenger Alex Leapai (Australia) at the König-Pilsener-Arena Oberhausen, Germany on April 26.
Last November the 34-year-old Leapai became a boxing sensation when he beat undefeated Denis Boytsov, the great heavyweight hope and No. 1 of the WBO world rankings. Leapai won a unanimous decision dominating Boytsov over 12 rounds and knocking him down twice in the process. As a result of this victory the WBO appointed Leapai the mandatory challenger for Wladimir Klitschko.
“The Lionheart” Leapai was born in Samoa and now lives and trains in Logan City, Australia. The reigning WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental heavyweight champion is currently rated No. 1 in the WBO world rankings. He turned professional in 2004 when he suffered most of his four losses due to being over-matched early in his career. With his latest victory against Boytsov, Leapai improved his record to 30 wins with 24 KOs.
37-old Wladimir Klitschko has been the undisputed No. 1 heavyweight champion for many years. As an amateur, Klitschko won the gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In his last fight in October 2013, Klitschko scored a unanimous decision against undefeated WBA “regular” champion Alexander Povetkin at the sold-out Moscow Olympic Hall. The clash with Leapai will be Klitschko’s 25th Heavyweight World Championship fight. His professional record is currently 61 wins, with 52 KOs and only three defeats.
Wladimir Klitschko: „It impressed me how Alex Leapai dominated Boytsov: He has shown strong punching power and a lot of heart. But moreover, that he can take a punch and feels confident in the role of the underdog. I will be very focused and prepare myself 100 per cent as always and will look forward to this next challenge.”
Alex Leapai: „People talk about how great Wladimir is and the 61 victories he has had in his career. I on the other hand think of the fact that he has been comprehensively ko’ed 3 times by people who cannot punch nearly as hard as me. I will break Wladimir and it will not be my hardest fight.“
Bernd Bönte, Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group (KMG): „We have good memories in this arena, both Wladimir and Vitali have already fought there twice and were always victorious. Each time there was a great atmosphere in this outstanding arena.”
Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions: „Wladimir has proven to be the most dominant heavyweight champion in recent memory and we are looking forward to another great performance and victory on April 26.”
In Germany, Klitschko vs. Leapai will be broadcasted live und exclusively on RTL Television.
Ticket sale starts on February 11 on www.eventim.de and via phone on +49-(0)1806-12 13 14. Prices range from 55 to 100 Euro (upper level), 55 Euro to 150 Euro (lower level) to 270, 390 and 640 Euro for exclusive VIP tickets with a seat in the inner field.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
