Wladimir Klitschko admits the heavyweight division needs a unified champ as he prepares to take on Sultan Ibragimov.
Division needs a dominant force, says Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko says boxing needs an undisputed heavyweight champion - and he is the man to do it.
The Ukrainian takes on Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden on February 23 with the IBF and WBO belts on the line.
The winner will still have WBA boss Ruslan Chagaev and current WBC king Oleg Maskaev to contend with, but even though he is treating this as another fight, Klitschko admits the division needs cleaning up.
"It's a unification fight, to me that's not important right now, but to deliver a great performance because I love what I do," he said.
"Of course it's important, especially for the boxing fan and even for sports, the sport of boxing needs the heavyweight champion. I am looking forward to the guy who holds one title, as a boxing fan.
"I am talking about consistency, I am looking to winning the title and beating everyone in the ring."
Klitschko is the bookies favourite, having strung together an unbeaten run that stretches back almost four years.
The 31-year-old younger brother of Vitali has beaten Samuel Peter, Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock and Lamon Brewster - the last man to beat him - in that time.
And he can also call on the experience of the last trainer to oversee a undisputed heavyweight champion in Manny Steward.
Steward guided Lennox Lewis to the very pinnacle of the sport and believes that Klitschko is the only man out there that can emulate the Briton.
Parallels are already being made to Lewis' two fights with the much smaller Evander Holyfield back in 1999 - the Real Deal took him the distance twice - and they have not been lost on the legendary trainer.
"I am excited about being involved in a unification again, and in New York again, very excited," he said. "I find Ibragimov is a much bigger threat to Wladimir than I thought Holyfield would be to Lennox Lewis.
"I agree that (Klitschko) he would transcend boxing, it does frustrate me, I consider Wladimir one of the best heavyweights in history, moves on his feet and accurate punching. Lennox didn't have a marquee fighter.
"There are no 'names' out there, so he has to try to be the unified champion."
