 With the win, Chagaev became the first Asian to win a world heavyweight title.On 26 June 2007, it was announced that Chagaev would partake in a heavyweight unification bout with WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov.The fight was due to take place in Moscow on 13 October 2007 and would have been the first heavyweight unification bout since 1999; however, Chagaev had to drop out of the fight after contracting hepatitis B.