which Dimitrenko was fighting someone taller than himself. The bout took place at Bördelandhalle in Magdeburg and was the main event of the card that was aired on ZDF. Both fighters started fighting aggressively and throwing heavy shots from the opening bell, with Dimitrenko appearing to be doing the better work, finding success working Hoffmann's body. At the beginning of the fourth round, Dimitrenko unleashed a barrage of punches that sent Hoffmann to the canvas. Hoffmann got up but was knocked down again after a series of body shots. By the end of the round, Dimitrenko appeared to be tired. Hoffmann regained composure in round 5, pressing Dimitrenko against the ropes and knocking him down with a left hook. In the second half of the fight, both fighters were trading shots, with Dimitrenko having the upper hand in most of the exchanges. By the eighth round, Hoffmann's face was covered in blood, while Dimitrenko had swells above both eyes. Dimitrenko unleashed another barrage of punches in the twelfth round, knocking Hoffmann down again. Hoffmann got up, but was soon dropped again. Dimitrenko then threw a series of unanswered shots, prompting the referee to stop the bout after Hoffmann was dropped again, with 36 seconds left to the end of the fight. Dimitrenko became the first boxer to defeat Timo Hoffmann inside the distance. During post-fight drug testing, Hoffmann tested positive for anabolic steroids. By the end of 2007, Dimitrenko was ranked by BoxRec as the tenth best heavyweight in the world. After defeating Derric Rossy by fifth-round TKO in a stay-busy fight, Dimitrenko then signed to face then-highly regarded German boxer Luan Krasniqi on 18 November in Düsseldorf, as part of the show billed by Universum as "Golden November". Many observers saw this fight as a big step up in competition for Dimitrenko and Krasniqi's last chance to regain his stock after losses to Lamon Brewster and Tony Thompson. During pre-fight press conference, Krasniqi said that if he wouldn't beat Dimitrenko, he was going to retire. The fight lasted only three rounds. In the third round, Dimitrenko dropped Krasniqi with a liver shot. Krasniqi was unable to get up at the count of ten, prompting the referee to stop the fight and declaring Dimitrenko the winner by third-round KO. This was Dimitrenko's fifth stoppage in a row, achieved against opponents with combined record 133–15–3. At the conclusion of 2008, Dimitrenko