Former World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko has announced he is retiring immediately, ending one of the most glittering boxing careers of all time.
After 27 years of fighting for a living former Undisputed World Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has announced he is to hang up his gloves.
The once-unbeatable boxing great who reigned unchallenged for 11 years retires with 64 professional victories, 53 of them knockouts, and only five losses.
Former World-Champion Wladimir
Klitschko</a> announces his retirement from boxing! Huge respect to an amazing boxer! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Klitschko?src=hash">#Klitschko</a> <a href="https://t.co/dO5krTrPFD">pic.twitter.com/dO5krTrPFD</a></p>— Sugar Ray's (sugarrays) 3 août 2017
In April the 41-year-old Ukrainian was stopped in the 11th round by Britain’s Anthony Joshua, and initially said he was ready for a rematch after a widely-admired fight that many said brought back memories of the last golden age in the heavyweight division, the 1990s.
Rewatching #JoshuaKlitschko . Everybody talked about AJ’s great uppercut in the 11th rd. But what about WK’s right hand at the end of rd 10? pic.twitter.com/d63HWD3C8W
— Matthew (@Fboxing) 31 juillet 2017
Klitschko ended his career with two defeats, as he lost his IBF, WBA and WBO titles in the fight before Joshua’s to another Briton, Tyson Fury. Joshua now holds the IBF and WBA titles.
Wladimir’s elder brother Vitaly was also a powerhouse of the ring and World Heavyweight Champion, and the brothers dominated heavyweight boxing for a decade from 2005-15. Vitaly is now Mayor of Kyiv. Wladimir’s retirement plans are as yet unknown, but he has an eponymous foundation that works with children.