Klitschko to defend titles against Thompson

World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will face Tony "The Tiger" Thompson of the United States in a mandatory defence of his IBF title in Bern, Switzerland, on July 7, it was announced on Thursday. "As a southpaw, Thompson is hard to box against," said the 36-year-old Klitschko. "He is good technically and he has already given me one of the hardest fights of my career." Thompson, 40, suffered the last defeat of his career with an 11th round knock-out at the hands of Klitschko in July 2008. The American has lost only two of his 38 fights, but with a dearth of good heavyweights to challenge him, Klitschko has now been the undisputed champion for the last four years. As well as defending his IBF belt, the fight will see Klitschko put his WBA, WBO and IBO titles on the line. At six foot five inches, Thompson is just an inch shorter than Klitschko. "Because of his size, this will be a fight at eye level and he will have taken some confidence after winning all of his fights since we last met," said Klitschko. This will be the first time Klitschko has fought in Switzerland and the last time the Ukrainian climbed in the ring was when he enjoyed the 50th KO of his career with a technical knock-out of France's Jean-Marc Mormeck in March.