WBO #10 ranked contender Chris Byrd (30-1) challenged undefeated WBO heavyweight champion of the world “Dr Ironfist” Vitali Klitschko (27-0) for the WBO heavyweight title.

Date: 1 April 2000
Venue: Estrel Convention Centre, Berlin, Germany
Referee: Gino Rodriguez
2000s Title Fight #1 – 2000s WBO Title Fight #1
WBO Defence #3 for Vitali

Two weeks before this bout, both fighters were preparing for very different opponents. Byrd, routinely avoided by most heavyweight contenders, was training for a fight against Adolpho Washington, while Vitali – now Dr Klitschko after passing his sports science PhD – was due to face Canadian veteran Donovan “Razor” Ruddock, two years into his comeback. But when Ruddock pulled out due to illness, Byrd flew to Germany to take the biggest fight of his career so far – a significant ordeal that left him struggling to adjust, particularly to German food.

Being out of condition and losing weight was just one of several factors Byrd faced, the biggest being the size disadvantage he faced. He gave away around six inches in height, five inches in reach, and 33½ lbs in weight to Vitali; HBO’s Larry Merchant described Byrd as “trying to cut down a sequoia with a penknife”. But Byrd was game for taking on the big Ukrainian as always, and made it his priority to avoid getting hit by one of Vitali’s hard shots that had floored the likes of Herbie Hide and Ed Mahone. While he initially struggled to land his own blows, he did a good job of neutralising Vitali’s offence, while still giving away the early rounds on the scorecard. From the fifth, he started to open up more and made life more uncomfortable for Vitali. By the ninth, it was shaping up into an intriguing contest.

Then, a bombshell: Vitali abruptly quit on his stool at the end of the ninth. Unbeknown to most observers at the Estrel, he had been suffering with a shoulder injury since the third round, later diagnosed as a torn rotator cuff. The pain left him unable to focus fully on boxing, and he apparently quit to prevent further damage. However, unbeknown to Vitali, he was actually up 88-83, 88-83, 89-82 on the judges’ scorecards – all he needed to do was avoid being knocked down for the last three rounds to retain his title. Instead, it passed to Byrd, the man hardly anyone had wanted to fight.

Vitali’s bizarre withdrawal was hugely damaging to his reputation as one of the top prospects in the division. Only he knew how much pain he was in, but it left him facing boxing’s dreaded Q-word from the critics. It was also a blow to the division, with another hot prospect going down to defeat. But for Byrd, this spelled a major opportunity to re-establish himself as a heavyweight contender – not to mention giving him possession of a world title belt.

Winner, and new heavyweight champion of the world: Chris Byrd (Vitali retired R9)