5 Notable Road Wins in the Career of Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko fights for the first time on American soil in seven years when he takes on Bryant Jennings in New York on Saturday.

The Ukrainian heavyweight (63-3, 53 KO) will put his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles on the line at Madison Square Garden.

American Jennings (19-0, 10 KO) is the latest fighter to get the chance to end Klitschko's long reign of dominance in the division—he has not been beaten since losing to Lamon Brewster in 2004.

Now 39, Dr. Steelhammer will be returning to the Big Apple for the first time since February 2008, when he defeated Sultan Ibragimov on points.

However, Klitschko is no stranger to fighting abroad during his long and illustrious career.

Here we pick out five pivotal performances he has produced on the road. And, just to make it clear, fights in Germany were not considered, as it has become a second home for the fighter.

1. Klitschko vs. Carlos Monroe (Louisiana, 1998)

Wladimir Klitschko's second professional bout actually took place on foreign soil, as he travelled to Austria to defeat Exum Speight inside two rounds.

However, his first taste of fighting in the United States came in July 1998.

The 1996 Olympic champion took on Carlos Monroe at the Grand Casino Avoyelles in Louisiana, with the action televised by ESPN.

Monroe had a mixed record—he was 11-6 at the time—but did manage to carry the unbeaten Klitschko (20-0, 18 KO) into the second half of their 10-round contest.

The end eventually came in the sixth, when Klitschko stopped Monroe with just over 30 seconds remaining in the round.

Watch the video above for no other reason than to enjoy Klitschko's pidgin English, which shows just how far he has developed, both in and out of the ring, since his early days.

2. Klitschko vs. Monte Barrett (London, 2000)

The one and only time—to date, at least—Klitschko has fought in the United Kingdom was in the summer of 2000.

He appeared on the undercard to Lennox Lewis' clash with Frans Botha at the New London Arena, Millwall, England, against American Monte Barrett.

It seemed it would be a short night for the Ukrainian when he dropped his opponent in the opening round.

However, Barrett recovered from the early setback, and although he went down for a second time in the fourth, he managed to make his rival work for the win.

The Associated Press report for the fight (h/t BoxRec) suggested Klitschko "lumbered to an unimpressive seventh-round stoppage," though there was nothing lacking when it came to the finish.

He put his opponent down three times to force referee Richie Davies to step in and call a halt to the proceedings.

3. Klitschko vs. DaVarryl Williamson (Las Vegas, 2004)

Klitschko's victory over DaVarryl Williamson in Las Vegas wasn't pretty, but it was vital.

Having been stopped by Lamont Brewster in his previous outing, Dr. Steelhammer simply could not afford to suffer a second successive defeat.

It didn't seem like he had taken too much of a gamble in opting to fight Williamson, a 36-year-old American with a 20-2 record, at Caesars Palace.

However, Klitschko had to come through a real scare to triumph in a bout that was halted early due to injury.

In the fourth round Williamson—who had only turned pro four years earlier—knocked his rival down to one knee with a right hand. Klitschko managed to recover his senses, though that wasn't the end of his suffering.

A head-butt toward the end of the next round left him with a nasty gash over his right eye.

The ringside doctor deemed him unfit to continue, and with the butt deemed unintentional, two of the three judges scored the bout in favour of the visiting fighter.

4. Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter (Atlantic City, 2005)

Considering he had been knocked out twice in the previous two years, Klitschko took a serious risk in fighting Samuel Peter.

The Nigerian Nightmare held a 24-0 record and had developed a reputation as a big puncher, as demonstrated by his previous four fights all finishing before the fifth round.

He caught up with Klitschko too, knocking him down three times in total at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

The Ukrainian, though, proved his powers of recovery to get up each time, as the bout went the distance.

His reward for surviving during the scary moments was a comfortable points victory in an eliminator for both the WBO and IBF titles.

All three judges scored it 114-111 in Klitschko's favour. He said afterward, per Dan Rafael of ESPN (h/t BoxRec): "It's wonderful to be back in the heavyweight picture. Hopefully, I convinced some of the critics that I have the stamina to go 12 rounds."

The pair would meet again in 2008 in Berlin, with Klitschko outclassing Peter throughout before eventually stopping him in the 10th round.

5. Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov (New York, 2008)

The last time Klitschko was in action at Madison Square Garden in New York was back in February 2008.

He successfully defended his IBF and IBO titles against Sultan Ibragimov while adding the WBO version to his collection to boot.

However, he had to go the full 12 rounds against the teak-tough Russian.

The final scorecards, though, showed just how dominant the champion had been. The judges gave it to Klitschko by margins of 119-110, 118-110 and 117-111.

He did most of his damage at long range; according to CompuBox (h/t BoxRec), he landed 108 jabs.

Ibragimov had won the WBO belt by beating Shannon Briggs the previous year. While he managed to successfully defend it against Evander Holyfield, he found Klitschko too much to handle in what turned out to be his final bout as a professional.

(Please note: The video attached has Russian commentary.)