David “The Boss” Bostice (22-1-1) challenged WBA Inter-Continental and European heavyweight champion and former Olympic gold medallist Wladimir Klitschko (32-1) for the WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title.

Date: 29 April 2000
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA
Referee: Joe Santarpia

In the aftermath of his brother’s shock defeat, Wladimir headed to the US for only the third time in his career to take his place on the undercard of the latest world title fight and attempt to restore credibility to the family name. His opponent was career journeyman Bostice, who boasted a reasonable record but against no major opponents. This was merely a profile-boosting exercise for Wladimir, and his job was to take Bostice out as quickly and impressively as possible.

In that sense, what he accomplished was everything that was asked of him. Halfway through the first round he floored Bostice with a left hook. A second knockdown came in the corner just before the bell, and the American just about made it to his feet to head to his corner. There was little reason for the fight to continue, such was the difference in class, but it took half of the second round and two further knockdowns before Joe Santarpia waved it off.

In time, both fighters would benefit from the exposure. There would be more undercard outings for Wladimir as he continued to build his promising career, but Bostice would also feature in a better standard of fights from here, facing the likes of Tim Witherspoon, Francois Botha, Lou Savarese and Alexander Povetkin. After a fight with the latter in 2007, he finished his professional career with a record of 37-12-1.

Winner: Wladimir Klitschko (by TKO R2)