Why Wladimir Klitschko Should Not Return

He says; she says.

Wladimir Klitschko, who went 11 years unbeaten while unifying the heavyweight division, is purportedly considering a comeback. The noted British boxing pundit Steve Bunce, on the January 10 edition of his BBC Live Boxing Podcast, had this to say: “I’m hearing….Wladimir Klitschko is coming back. He’s gonna fight again. And I’m hearing him linked with a big British heavyweight. And it’s not Fury. And it’s not Anthony Joshua.”

Speculation immediately focused on Dillian Whyte.

Klitschko (pictured at Harvard University in June of last year) denied the rumor. As reported on Jan. 14 by Sports Illustrated senior writer Chris Mannix, Klitschko sent a text message to @SI.now in which he called the Whyte chatter “fake news.”

Klitschko addressed the rumor again on his twitter page the following day: “I’m all about challenges in life and I do really feel that I ‘still got it’. Recently many of you contacted me willing to see me making a comeback to the ring this April and I’m thankful to y’all for that. However, I need to call such speculation an early April fool’s day joke.”

Dillian Whyte begged to differ. “That’s a lie,” he said. “Klitschko is definitely coming back. We offered him a fight and he said he needs two warm-up fights before he fights me.”

Whyte elaborated in a Jan. 17 conversation with Michelle Joy Phelps for Between The Gloves: “He’s definitely coming back, 100 percent. He’s a smart man, he knows how to play the media and control stuff. He does what he does and did it for years…George Foreman did it and he thinks he wants to come back and do it too. Klitschko is all about legacy, not about money. It’s about cementing a legacy.”

The same day that Phelps interviewed Whyte, RingTV published an article by boxing insider Mike Coppinger quoting unnamed industry sources saying that Klitschko was in negotiations with DAZN for a three-fight deal. Klitschko, according to Coppinger’s sources, had direct conversations with DAZN’s chief shareholder Len Blavatnik. The London billionaire, noted Coppinger, was born in the Ukraine, as was Klitschko.

If all goes according to plan, said Coppinger, Klitschko would fight a “limited foe” in Germany before meeting Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, in that order. That would seem to rule out Dillian Whyte, a fight that would be too risky for him. The heavy-handed Whyte has the power to send Wlad to Ukrainian Dreamland.

Why He Shouldn’t Come Back

If he stays retired, Klitschko’s career record will stand at 64-5 (53 KOs) and he’ll be a cinch first ballot Hall of Famer with a great legacy. Why taint that legacy and join the likes of Roy Jones Jr and James Toney in this regard? Wlad has nothing to prove.

Klitschko last fought in April 2017, losing to Anthony Joshua in the Fight of the Year at Wembley Stadium when Joshua stopped him in the 11th round. It was a moral win for Wladimir who was clearly past his prime.

He previously lost to a ring-savvy Tyson Fury in a dreadful affair. Thus, it might be argued that that the only solid reason in returning would be if Fury somehow re-unifies the title, and thus one fight against Fury would yield all of the belts. As Whyte puts it, “If he comes back and loses, so what? If he wins, then great.”

Money is not the motivator; ego is, but ego doesn’t carry the same level of motivation.

Wladimir had the opportunity for a rematch against Joshua, but upon much reflection, he decided against it. If not then, why now when he is two years older and two years rustier?

Yes, when boxers get the itch to return—and most do—it’s very difficult not to scratch it, but would it not be best to remember Wladimir in a Fight of the Year performance?

What do you think?

Ted Sares is one of the world’s oldest active power lifters and Strongman competitors and may compete in the Ukraine in 2019. He is a lifetime member of Ring 10, and a member of Ring 4 and its Boxing Hall of Fame. He also is an Auxiliary Member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

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