Wladimir Klitschko wants it to be known that he is not finished yet, not by a long shot. Though the former heavyweight king is currently injured (a minor injury forcing his planned Dec 10 challenge of IBF ruler Anthony Joshua to be delayed until next spring some time) and has already been idle for a longer period of time than ever before in his career, Klitschko says there are “big spectacular fights left in me yet.”
Klitschko, 64-4(53) told German newspaper BILD that he has never, ever thought about walking away from boxing, despite losing to Tyson Fury last November and despite the fact that he will turn 41 next March.
“There will still be a few big spectacular fights with me in the ring,” Dr. Steel Hammer said yesterday. “I haven’t yet thought of stopping, not even with the defeat [to Fury] and the loss of my belts. As long as I can perform in the ring, am healthy and motivated, I will continue.”
That’s the thing though – is Klitschko healthy and can he still perform in the ring? Okay, he’s currently injured, but overall Klitschko appears to still be in fine physical shape, especially for a fighter who has been boxing as a pro for almost twenty years. Never one to balloon in between fights, Klitschko prides himself on his conditioning and on his appearance. And motivation-wise, Klitschko sure seems to have no problems there either. But can Klitschko still get the job done in the ring?
We haven’t seen Wladimir fight for almost a year and when he did last box, against Fury, he looked poor. Some people, including David Haye, have said Klitschklo looked to be deteriorating even before the Fury defeat and that the 40-year-old is all but “done.” Klitschko says otherwise, though, and we will find out who is right when Wladimir fights again. And that’s looking like next spring, in the UK, against Joshua.
Klitschko says he has big and spectacular fights left in him, and this one, against AJ, could well deliver on that front.
“That will be the biggest heavyweight fight for several years,” Klitschko said of his in-the-works rumble with the unbeaten Londoner.
Let’s just hope this fight does not prove as hard to get nailed down as the Fury-Klitschko rematch did; apparently destined never to happen at all now.
