This loss was named as the biggest upset of the year by The Ring magazine.
In 2003, Corrie Sanders took on the WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, in a fight billed as The Next Big Thing.
Both men were seasoned fighters, but Klitschko was unbeaten in 4 years and in his prime. At 26 years old, he was seen by many as the heir apparent to the heavyweight throne. In comparison, Sanders was so seasoned he was considered semi-retired. Despite holding the WBU belt for a long time he wasn’t particularly well known, was already in his late 30s, and had only fought 3 rounds in the previous 2 years and 9 months.
After reading that, you will understand why the bookies had Klitschko at 1/20 to win, with Sanders at 20/1 and even as long as 40/1 with some odds makers.
Sanders had accepted the fight at short notice too, after other opponents for Wladimir had fallen through.
Things did not go as expected.
It took Corrie Sanders less than 2 rounds to dispatch Wladimir Klitschko, and he put the Ukrainian on the canvas four times in the short fight. Klitschko just didn’t see Sanders’ left hand coming.
In Round 1, the South African south paw reacted to a jab with a left hook that sent Klitschko into a clinch. He followed up with another while Klitschko was still in the clinch and it connected perfectly. Klitschko hit the deck, and although he was up again on a count of seven, he was back on the floor a few moments later.
It would have been over there and then had the time not run out, saving Klitschko from an even more embarrassing defeat.
Wladimir was downed again just seconds after Round 2 began. Another left handed strike, right to the nose. He attempted to go on the offensive rather than holding but that tactic failed miserably. Sanders stepped out of the way and let Klitschko’s momentum take him into the ropes, then dropped him again as he turned around.
The referee stopped the fight at this point, and there was a new WBO Heavyweight Champion. A man that most people had written off completely.
Tragically, Sanders was murdered during a robbery in 2012, but he will always be remembered for this incredible underdog story.