By James Slater – Any plans reigning WBC heavyweight king Vitali Klitschko had of fighting again in the summer have had to be put to bed. 40-year-old “Dr. Iron Fist,” a wide points winner over a game Dereck Chisora on Saturday night in Munich, injured his left shoulder in the 4th-round of his victory. It was noticeable when watching the fight that Klitschko’s left hand was being used less and less from the 4th-round on and now we know why.
“I came into the fight in top shape,” Vitali said to RTL of his latest triumph. “In the 4th-round I hurt [my shoulder]. I’m really afraid because my left arm just doesn’t move and it feels like it doesn’t belong to me. The doctors said it’s nothing serious. Thank God no surgical treatment is necessary.”
Vitali will now undergo some therapy and his next fight will likely be at least seven months from now. Of course, it is unclear who the elder Klitschko will actually fight next. Fast running out of credible challengers (especially now that it looks as though there is no way the country of Germany will ever welcome either David Haye or Dereck Chisora back to fight – both guys being possible opponents for Vitali (Chisora in a rematch) before the craziness that erupted at the post-fight press conference), it could be argued that “Dr. Iron Fist” and his brother have more or less cleaned out the entire heavyweight division, and that a Vitali retirement would make sense.
Between them, the Klitschkos have seen off Sam Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Kevin Johnson, Chris Arreola, Odlanier Solis, Tomasz Adamek, Chisora, Haye, Ruslan Chagaev, Eddie Chambers, Tony Thompson and Hasim Rahman. That’s quite a decent list of vanquished foes. Looking down the rankings, there are precious few heavyweight contenders left!
Haye was saying post-fight on U.K subscription channel BoxNation that he is convinced he’d KO Vitali if he got the chance. Haye said he saw an old fighter way past his best who had “no control over his legs.” Haye said the Vitali that beat Chisora “is not the same man who fought Lennox Lewis.” The shoulder injury he picked up may have had a lot to do with Vitali’s much tougher than expected fight on Saturday, but maybe age is catching up with him.
With no obvious next challenger out there for him, maybe Vitali will leave the ring behind him as he concentrates on his political career. Certainly, neither Klitschko owes the sport anything at this stage. Take another look at that list of their victims: the Klitschkos really have beaten all comers.