Vitali Klitschko vs. Corrie Sanders, billed as Let the Next Era Begin, was a professional boxing match contested on 24 April 2004 for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.
After his TKO loss to Lennox Lewis in June 2003 Vitali Klitschko first sort out an immediate rematch, however after some initial interest[1] Lewis ultimately declined, deciding not to fight for the rest of 2003.[2] As a result, Klitschko faced Kirk Johnson in a WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator stopping him in 2 rounds making him Lewis's mandatory contender.[3]
In January 2004 Lewis announced his retirement from boxing leaving the WBC belt vacant.[4]
Corrie Sanders caused the Upset of the Year in 2003 when he knocked out Vitali's younger brother Klitschko to win the WBO belt. After vacating the belt he agreed to face Vitali for the now vacant WBC title.[5][6]
Going into the fight Vitali Klitschko was ranked as the best Heavyweight in the world by Ring magazine (Corrie Sanders was 3rd).[7]
The fightedit
The fight proved to be a slugfest with Sanders landing some big left hands on Vitali, but the bigger man was throwing and landing more punches.
By the eighth round, Sanders was bleeding and looking worn out. He managed a last flurry which briefly troubled Klitschko before a straight right halted the attack. Referee John Schorle stepped in towards the end of round after Sanders took a string of 20 unanswered punches giving Klitschko a TKO victory.[8]
According to CompuBox Klitschko landed 230 punches with 56% accuracy, against Sanders's 51 punches with 22% accuracy.[9] There were no knockdown[10]
Aftermathedit
Sanders was taken to a hospital for a hematoma of his left ear however his manager, Vernon Smith, said "He's all right; he's cracking jokes. He took quite a shot behind the left ear. He was exhausted, he was tired. He did not disagree with the referee's decision. He got beaten by a better fighter."
Klitschko praised Sanders durability saying "I was surprised he never went down. He took so many punches it was unbelievable."
After Sanders' death in 2012 Vitali praised him to Bild Plus saying “Corrie Sanders was the most difficult opponent I ever fought. Corrie was fast, could give and take a punch. His style was dangerous and did not suit me. I was very pleased to be able to win this fight.”[11]
vitali, klitschko, corrie, sanders, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Vitali Klitschko vs Corrie Sanders news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Vitali Klitschko vs Corrie Sanders billed as Let the Next Era Begin was a professional boxing match contested on 24 April 2004 for the WBC Heavyweight Championship Let the Next Era BeginDate24 April 2004VenueStaples Center Los Angeles California USTitle s on the lineWBC and The Ring heavyweight titlesTale of the tapeBoxerVitali KlitschkoCorrie SandersNickname Dr Ironfist The Sniper HometownKyiv Kyiv Oblast UkrainePretoria Gauteng SAPurse 952 500Pre fight record33 2 32 KO 39 2 21 KO Age32 years 9 months38 years 3 monthsHeight6 ft 7 in 201 cm 6 ft 4 in 193 cm Weight245 lb 111 kg 235 lb 107 kg StyleOrthodoxSouthpawRecognitionWBCNo 1 Ranked HeavyweightWBCNo 2 Ranked HeavyweightResultKlitschko defeated Sanders via 8th round TKO Contents 1 Background 2 The fight 3 Aftermath 4 Undercard 5 Broadcasting 6 ReferencesBackground editAfter his TKO loss to Lennox Lewis in June 2003 Vitali Klitschko first sort out an immediate rematch however after some initial interest 1 Lewis ultimately declined deciding not to fight for the rest of 2003 2 As a result Klitschko faced Kirk Johnson in a WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator stopping him in 2 rounds making him Lewis s mandatory contender 3 In January 2004 Lewis announced his retirement from boxing leaving the WBC belt vacant 4 Corrie Sanders caused the Upset of the Year in 2003 when he knocked out Vitali s younger brother Klitschko to win the WBO belt After vacating the belt he agreed to face Vitali for the now vacant WBC title 5 6 Going into the fight Vitali Klitschko was ranked as the best Heavyweight in the world by Ring magazine Corrie Sanders was 3rd 7 The fight editThe fight proved to be a slugfest with Sanders landing some big left hands on Vitali but the bigger man was throwing and landing more punches By the eighth round Sanders was bleeding and looking worn out He managed a last flurry which briefly troubled Klitschko before a straight right halted the attack Referee John Schorle stepped in towards the end of round after Sanders took a string of 20 unanswered punches giving Klitschko a TKO victory 8 According to CompuBox Klitschko landed 230 punches with 56 accuracy against Sanders s 51 punches with 22 accuracy 9 There were no knockdown 10 Aftermath editSanders was taken to a hospital for a hematoma of his left ear however his manager Vernon Smith said He s all right he s cracking jokes He took quite a shot behind the left ear He was exhausted he was tired He did not disagree with the referee s decision He got beaten by a better fighter Klitschko praised Sanders durability saying I was surprised he never went down He took so many punches it was unbelievable After Sanders death in 2012 Vitali praised him to Bild Plus saying Corrie Sanders was the most difficult opponent I ever fought Corrie was fast could give and take a punch His style was dangerous and did not suit me I was very pleased to be able to win this fight 11 Undercard editConfirmed bouts 12 Winner Loser Weight division title belt s disputed Result nbsp Jose Navarro nbsp Martin Armenta Bantamweight 8 rounds 5th round TKO nbsp Carlos Bojorquez nbsp Ronald Weaver Middleweight 8 rounds 4th round KO nbsp Ahmad Kaddour nbsp Juan Carlos Garcia Middleweight 8 rounds 4th round RTD nbsp Sumya Anani nbsp Lisa Holewyne Welterweight 6 rounds Unanimous decision nbsp Taras Bidenko nbsp Agustin Corpus Heavyweight 6 rounds Unanimous decision nbsp Efren Hinojosa nbsp Jose Luis Montes Welterweight 4 rounds Unanimous decision Broadcasting editCountry Broadcaster nbsp Germany ZDF nbsp Hungary RTL Klub nbsp United States HBOReferences edit Lewis set for Klitschko rematch BBC News 3 July 2003 Lewis snubs Klitschko BBC News 4 August 2003 Rawling John 8 December 2003 Klitschko looks champion The Guardian Retrieved 9 June 2021 Lewis bows out as champion BBC News 6 February 2004 Corrie Sanders The Man Who Changed The Klitschkos Lives Forever 24 September 2012 Rawling John 27 February 2004 Sanders to take on Klitschko for vacant WBC title The Guardian Retrieved 9 June 2021 The Ring Magazine s Annual Ratings 2003 BoxRec boxrec com Klitschko crowned champion BBC News 25 April 2004 Vitali Klitschko vs Corrie Sanders Springer Steve 25 April 2004 Klitschko Punches Ticket to Big Time Los Angeles Times Retrieved 9 June 2021 Vitali Klitschko Corrie Sanders Was My Toughest Fight Boxing News BoxRec event Preceded byvs Kirk Johnson Vitali Klitschko bouts24 April 2004 Succeeded byvs Danny Williams Preceded byvs Wladimir Klitschko Corrie Sanders s bouts24 April 2004 Succeeded byvs Alexey Varakin Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vitali Klitschko vs Corrie Sanders amp oldid 1216018727, wikipedia, 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