Timur Ibragimov

Ibragimov is from Uzbekistan. He has frequently been presented by various media as the brother or cousin of former WBO Heavyweight Champion Sultan Ibragimov, although Sultan is a native of Dagestan and they are not relatives, but close friends, and they are also friends with Uzbek boxer Ruslan Chagaev.^[1]

Ibragimov had over 200 amateur fights, and during the 1990s, he was one of the world's leading amateur boxers in the light heavyweight division. In 1991, Ibragimov won the Soviet Union Junior National Championships for his age category (16 to 18 years old). After the break-up of the USSR, Ibragimov won the Uzbekistani National Championships five times. Ibragimov participated several times in the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships and the Asian Games, and in 1995 he was a quarter finalist at the World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin. Ibragimov won the Gold Medal at the Central Asian Games in 1997.

Ibragimov participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as a member of the 1996 Uzbek Olympic team. In this tournament, Ibragimov lost a highly controversial decision to Croatia's Stipe Drews.

Ibragimov turned professional in 2000, fighting alongside his cousin Sultan in a stable managed by Boris Grinsberg. Now based in the United States, Ibragimov ran up a record of 21–0–1 by 2006. His lone draw was against Kevin Johnson.

In 2006 Ibragimov faced then-undefeated heavyweight contender Calvin Brock. The fight took place in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was aired on HBO as part of Boxing After Dark series.^[2][3] Although he rocked Brock early with a solid right cross, Ibragimov fought defensively for most of the bout. During the fight, the temperature exceeded 100 °F (38 °C), which resulted in each fighter unwilling to press the action. The fight went full twelve rounds, with Ibragimov suffering his first career loss, with the judges scoring the bout 119–109, 115–113 and 117–111, all in favor of Brock.^[4][2][3]

On February 16, 2007 Ibragimov lost a unanimous decision to Tony Thompson. Ibragimov rallied in the last two rounds, but was not able to overcome the points advantage accumulated by Thompson earlier in the bout. The scores were 99–91, 97–93, and 97–93.

Later in 2007, Ibragimov won a unanimous decision over former European champion Timo Hoffmann in Germany. Ibragimov dominated the bout with shifty boxing tactics and hurtful counter rights to the head. The scores were 99–94, 98–92, and 97–93. The victory was regarded as an upset, and it positioned Ibragimov on the edge of the world ratings.^[5]

Due to promotional and managerial problems, Ibragimov was inactive after beating Hoffman. In 2008, Ibragimov fought only twice, winning decisions each time. He won two fights in 2009 as well.

Ibragimov had an important year in 2010, winning four fights and obtaining high worldwide rating by the World Boxing Association. In February, he took the International Boxing Association Intercontinental heavyweight title by knocking out Awadh Tamim in three rounds.^[6] In June, Ibragimov scored his most important career victory by outpointing former world heavyweight champion Oliver McCall over twelve rounds. The scores were 119–109, 117–111, and 117–111. The McCall victory earned Ibragimov the North American Boxing Association heavyweight title.^[7] Ibragimov next defeated Gurcharan Singh and Luis Pineda.

In December 2010, Ibragimov lost a 12-round split decision to former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck.^[8] The bout, held in Paris for the vacant WBA International heavyweight title, was closely contested. Many reporters actually scored the fight in favor of Ibragimov.^[9] One judge favored Ibragimov 115–113, but was overruled by two judges who chose Mormeck by margins of 116–111 and 116–112. At the time of this match, Ibragimov was ranked seventh worldwide by the World Boxing Association.

After the Mormeck fight, Ibragimov remained inactive for an entire year. When he finally fought again, in December 2011, he was surprisingly stopped in two rounds by the undefeated, power-punching contender Seth Mitchell.^[10] The defeat, which took place in Washington, D.C., marked the first time that Ibragimov had lost by knockout or technical knockout as an amateur or professional.

Ibragimov won a fight in June 2012, by outpointing South Africa's Wiseman Dlomo in a bout held in Uzbekistan.