17 years ago

Date: 7th July 2007

Venue: Kolnarena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Title: IBF & IBO World Heavyweight Titles

Promoter: K2 Promotions

Tv: HBO

Wladimir Klitschko
( 48 - 3 - 0 )
Weight: 243½ lbs

Lamon Brewster
( 33 - 3 - 0 )
Weight: 228¼ lbs

On July 7, 2007, at the Kolnarena in Cologne, Germany, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (243 lbs) successfully defended his titles by stopping Lamon Brewster (228 lbs) via a 6th round technical knockout. The fight, which was aired on HBO and announced by Michael Buffer, was a rematch of their 2004 encounter, where Brewster had handed Klitschko a stunning 5th-round TKO loss.

Coming into the fight, Brewster had been out of the ring for 15 months following a loss to Siarhei Liakhovich, during which he suffered a detached retina in his left eye that required surgery. Despite being on medical suspension in the United States, Brewster travelled to Germany for the mandatory title defence, as he was the highest-ranked contender in the IBF rankings behind Klitschko's previous opponent, Ray Austin.

From the opening bell, Klitschko dominated the fight with his powerful left jab, for which Brewster had no answer. The Ukrainian champion's superior speed and defence allowed him to evade most of Brewster's punches while consistently landing his own shots. In the sixth round, Klitschko rocked Brewster with two massive left-right combinations, prompting Brewster's trainer, Buddy McGirt, to throw in the towel before the start of the seventh round.

Despite breaking his left middle finger in the first round, Klitschko's performance was impressive. He landed 199 punches with 46% accuracy compared to Brewster's 70 punches with 28% accuracy. The victory was significant for Klitschko, as it allowed him to avenge one of the most painful losses of his career and solidify his status as the top heavyweight in the world.

After the fight, Klitschko expressed his satisfaction with the outcome, stating, "I have waited for this fight for three years. This was incredibly important for me. Today, I could not lose. My confidence was such I could not lose." Brewster, gracious in defeat, acknowledged Klitschko as the better man on the night and stood by his trainer's decision to stop the fight.

The rematch drew an impressive average of 11.21 million viewers in Germany, a testament to Klitschko's popularity and the event's significance. With the win, Klitschko improved his record to 49-3 with 44 knockouts, while Brewster fell to 33-4 with 29 knockouts.