After surrendering his WBA/WBO/IBF titles to Tyson Fury last Saturday night in Dusseldorf, Wladimir Klitschko has confirmed he will indeed be exercising the rematch clause in the contract and will square off with Fury again next year.
Speaking in a short clip released via his Instagram account, Wladimir addresses his fans and Fury in what he calls a ‘pre-Christmas gift,’ ending online speculation that he might possibly retire following the defeat at the hands of the Brit – a defeat that ended his 11 1/2 year undefeated streak and 9 1/2 year championship reign.
“I have a pre-Christmas gift for Tyson Fury and all boxing fans around the world. I will be making use of my contractual option for a rematch against Fury. So to say the fight of 2016 is in the making!”
Fury’s trainer Peter Fury, and manager/promoter, Mick Hennessy have already stated that they would like the rematch to be a big stadium event in the UK, although conceded they would again be prepared to travel to Germany, such is their level of belief in replicating, or even bettering, last Saturday’s victory.
It was always unlikely that the 39 year old former champion would retire, given he recently signed a 5 fight extension with German broadcast partner, RTL, of which the Fury fight was the first.
In the wake of the upset of the year victory for the 6’9″ challenger, Klitschko’s brother Vitali confirmed that he would indeed be back stronger.
Boxing fans the world over, though particularly in the UK, will no doubt await the rematch with gleeful anticipation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgpO_0a21w
Twitter @undilutedpoison
