CHRIS BYRD VS. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO 2

HBO Sports presents am international event of heavyweight title action when World Championship Boxing: Byrd vs. KLitschko is seen live Saturday, April 22, exclusively on HBO.

March 16, 2006

HBO heads overseas for a heavyweight title showdown when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: CHRIS BYRD VS. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO is seen live from the SAP Arena in Manheim, Germany on SATURDAY, APRIL 22 at the special times of (5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT) with a second broadcast on HBO at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) the same evening. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant will be ringside for the event, which will be closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

HBO2 playdates: APRIL 23 (8:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.) and 25 (11:00 p.m.). All times ET/PT.

In a rematch that appears like the completion of a trilogy, title-holder Chris Byrd (39-2-1, 20 KOs) from Las Vegas, NV takes on Ukrainian native Wladimir Klitschko (45-3, 40 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round heavyweight title fight. Byrd, making his third trip to Germany to fight a heavyweight named Klitschko, initially faced off and defeated Vitali Klitschko in April of 2000, confirming Byrd's ability to rise to the challenge at hand. In October of 2000, he went back to Germany and absorbed a loss at the hands of Wladimir, who had vowed to avenge the family loss. Byrd, a native of Flint, Mich., is currently on a nine-fight winning streak during which he captured the title status he currently enjoys.

Wladimir, 30, who was detoured by two losses in his last eight fights, is on a three-bout winning streak and is looking to regain a title for the Klitschko family, which has become enormously popular in the German boxing world. Vitali, who held a world title, retired at the close of 2005 from a string of injuries. Now younger brother Wladimir has a chance to shine in the spotlight against one of the craftiest professionals on the scene.