Wladimir Klitschko vs. Corrie Sanders

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Corrie Sanders, billed as The Next Big Thing was a professional boxing match contested on 8 March 2003 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship.
Background.
Since beating Chris Byrd to win the WBO belt Wladimir Klitschko had made five successful defences, all of which had ended within the distance, and was ranked as the No.1 heavyweight contender by "The Ring" (WBC champion Lennox Lewis was the magazine's champion). After being unable to reach agreements with Kirk Johnson, Fres Oquendo, Lou Savarese and Danny Williams, Universum Box Promotion ultimately signed a 4-fight contract with Corrie Sanders, who was ranked No.9 contender by WBO at the time. According to the agreement, Sanders' first fight was going to be for the WBO world heavyweight title. Since a knockout loss to Hasim Rahman in May 2000, Sanders had only fought in a total of three rounds in the intervening two years and nine months.
The fight.
With thirty seconds left in the opening round, Wladimir threw a jab that Sanders countered with a big left hook, prompting Klitschko to enter a clinch. While in the clinch, Sanders landed another left hook that send Klitschko to the canvas. Klitschko got up but was dropped again almost immediately. The following round, Sanders continued his assault on a visibly hurt Klitschko, dropping him twice more at the beginning of the round. The referee waived it off after the fourth knockdown.
Aftermath.
In December 2003 Sanders vacated the WBO belt after refusing to fight the organization's No.1 contender Lamon Brewster. The following year he faced his brother Vitali Klitschko for the WBC championship, which was left vacant after the retirement of Lewis. Vitali would ultimately stop him in the 8th round. He would have another four fights before retiring after a loss in 2008.
Wladimir would have two more quick knockout victories before facing Lamon Brewster for the now vacant WBO belt, however he was once again upset by the underdog.
Undercard.
Confirmed bouts: