Thompson finally received a shot at the world heavyweight championship when he signed to face the newly crowned WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko on July 12, 2008, in a fight where Klitschko's IBF world heavyweight title was also on the line. In the build-up to the fight, Klitschko praised Thompson for his defensive abilities, while Klitschko's trainer Emmanuel Steward described Thompson as "one of the most difficult fights we will have". In the pre-fight interview, Thompson promised that he wouldn't run away from Klitschko, and would fight him toe-to-toe. Many observes expected Klitschko to win by TKO in the second half of the fight, before the fighters would enter the championship rounds. The fight took place at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, the same venue where Thompson had defeated Luan Krasniqi in a title eliminator almost a year prior. Coming into the fight, Thompson was a 7-to-1 underdog. Thompson weighed in at 247.5 pounds, 6.5 lbs heavier than Klitschko.