At the press conference to officially announce their October 24th world heavyweight title fight in Dusseldorf, Germany, Tyson Fury (24-0) referred to long-dominant champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3) as “old and grey,” insisting that the now 39 year old champion is past-best and that it is he who is heir to the heavyweight throne.
Either way, win or lose in October, it will not spell the end for Klitschko, who has confirmed he has no plans to retire yet, extending his contract with long time German broadcaster RTL by five more fights.
Wladimir, who is also part way through a TV deal with US broadcasting giant HBO, said to ESPN.com
“My previous contract expired after (the) Jennings fight, so now I have another five-fight deal with RTL. I never thought about the exact time of my retirement, but for some reason people are trying to retire me sooner than later.”
Future HOF Inductee Wladimir, who makes title defence no. 19 against Fury, will be 6 short of the all-time record set by Joe Louis should he be victorious, and is keen to keep going for as long as he can.
“I don’t feel my age (and am not) tired of boxing,” he said. “I really mean it.”
Should Klitschko beat Fury in October, it sets up a huge unification showdown with American WBC champion Deontay Wilder, who holds the title vacated by Klitschko’s big brother Vitali.
The elder Klitschko retired aged 41 in 2012 to focus on his political ambitions in the brother’s war-torn Ukraine homeland.
Twitter @Undilutedposion
