Former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko is still fielding questions about his possible comeback to the ring. As fans know, a news story broke a few days ago that reported how Klitschko was seriously thinking about launching a comeback, with Saudi money man Turki Alalshikh saying that it is his “dream” to see Wladimir come back “one more time” and try to break George Foreman’s record as the oldest heavyweight champion ever.
Now, out in Riyadh to support his countryman Oleksandr Usyk in his massive return fight with Tyson Fury – the man who ended “Dr. Steel Hammer’s” long reign as heavyweight king –, Klitschko told Sky Sports that he is sure Usyk will win and in so doing will “keep me in retirement.”
Klitschko has no interest in returning to fight Usyk, only Fury. But if Fury loses tomorrow night, Klitschko says he will stay where he is—retired.
“It’s not going to happen okay. I’m going to stay in retirement. He’s [Usyk] going to keep me in retirement,” Klitschko said. “I remember Oleksandr called me at the end of March of this year, on my birthday and he said, ‘Champ, I wish you happy birthday and I wish that your dream to become the oldest champion of the world will come true.’ I said, ‘Oleksandr, what are you talking about, your fight is going to come up, you’re in preparation, keep me in retirement.’ So he promised, ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to keep it [the championship.]”
Wladimir is certain Usyk will beat Fury a second time, and he sees a similar outcome to the fight that saw Usyk defeat Fury back in May.
“Oleksandr is going to repeat history,” Wladimir said. “It’s going to be deja vu. So repetition. That’s actually what is happening. I was here for the first fight. It just feels the same and it looks the same and is the same.”
Of course, Fury and his supporters say differently, and Fury cannot be written off. Both heavyweights look immensely focused and dialed in, going into this utterly fascinating rematch. If Fury wins, who knows? Maybe Wladimir will decide to end his retirement after all.
But for now, all eyes are on Usyk and Fury. Today, the official weigh-in should also prove quite interesting to view. Just how much will Fury scale at today’s weigh-in?
