ESPN Boxing

Vitali Klitschko vs. Juan Carlos Gomez

March 21, 2009

 Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle

Stuttgart, Germany

For more information, visit: www.klitschko.com.

Featured Bout:

WBC Heavyweight Title Bout (12 Rds)

Champion Vitali Klitschko (36-2, 35 KOs) vs. # 1 ranked Juan Carlos Gomez (45-1, 35 KOs)

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First-Ever Live, World-Ranked Heavyweight Championship on ESPN

will Feature Klitschko-Gomez Title Bout

WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Juan Carlos

Gomez on Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m. ET from Stuttgart, Germany, in the first live, world-ranked

heavyweight championship bout on ESPN. It will be Klitschko’s first title defense since coming out of

retirement last October, when he beat defending champion Samuel Peter.

The bout will also be presented live on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s broadband sports network, and ESPN Mobile

TV, ESPN’s real-time service for mobile devices.

Klitschko is among only a handful of boxers in history -- along with Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and

Lennox Lewis -- who have won the heavyweight crown three times. Klitschko was WBO Heavyweight

Champion from 1999 until 2000 and WBC Heavyweight Champion from 2004 until 2005. He has a record of

36-2 with 35 knockouts.

Gomez is No. 1 in the WBC rating and the official challenger with a record of 45-1 with 35 knockouts. A

former WBC cruiserweight champion, he won the title in 1998 and defended it successfully 10 times before

vacating the title to move up in weight. He became the mandatory heavyweight challenger with two wins in

elimination bouts.

Play-by-play announcer Brian Kenny and analyst Teddy Atlas will call the action for ESPN.

ESPN2 will continue airing its Friday Night Fights franchise throughout the 2009 season. Continuing the

momentum after the Klitschko-Gomez fight, ESPN2 will air a bout on March 27 at 10 p.m. ET featuring

former champion Peter and IBF No. 5 Eddie Chambers.
 

- Press Release issued by ESPN

Subject to change

(3/18/09)