| Date | 14 October 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Kolnarena, Cologne, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBO Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Klitschko defeated Byrd via Unanimous Decision | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chris Byrd vs. Wladimir Klitschko , billed as Die Rache des Bruders (German for "Revenge Of The Brother"), [1] was a professional boxing match contested on 14 October 2000 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship. [2]
After his shock victory over the undefeated Vitali Klitschko, following Vitali suffering a torn rotator cuff, Chris Byrd agreed to face his number one contender, and Vitali's younger brother Wladimir. [3] Wladimir Klitschko had won ten fights in a row following his first pro loss at the hands of journeyman Ross Puritty in December 1998.
Klitschko knocked Byrd down in round nine and again in round eleven on route to a clear unanimous decision victory with scores of 120-106, 119-107 & 118-108, giving him his first world title belt.
Wladimir would go on to make six defences of his title before he suffered a knockout loss to Corrie Sanders in March 2003. Byrd would win his next four bouts, including against Maurice Harris and David Tua in an IBF heavyweight title "eliminator" mini-tournament which put him in line for a shot at the IBF belt then held by Lennox Lewis. Lewis would vacate the title and Byrd would face former champion Evander Holyfield for the vacant belt.
Confirmed bouts: [4]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Germany | Sat.1 [5] |
 United Kingdom | Sky Box Office [6] |
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Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine titles. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, quick hand speed, great physical strength which he employed when clinching opponents, as well as athletic footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.
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Christopher Cornelius Byrd is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over then-undefeated Vitali Klitschko. In his first title defense later that year, he lost to Vitali's brother Wladimir Klitschko. In 2002, Byrd defeated Evander Holyfield to win the IBF heavyweight title for his second reign as world champion. He made four successful defenses until losing his title again to Wladimir Klitschko in a 2006 rematch. He was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweight from 1998 to 2004, reaching his highest ranking of No.3 in 2000.
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