Wladimir ‘Dr. Steel Hammer’ Klitschko has announced his retirement from the sport of boxing.
Just when we thought we would watch these two titans lock horns again, as per Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, who was trying to get Joshua and Klitschko II.
The bout was being planned for November and everyone was waiting on Klitschko.
But the former heavyweight champion declined the rematch against his last opponent and said good bye to the sport that he dominated for decades.
A Sound Decision
He took his time mulling the decision to get back into the ring. He said that he needed ‘distance from the [Joshua] fight’. So he could make a sound decision.
In his statement he said:
“As an amateur and a professional boxer, I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports.”
The Career of Klitschko
The 41-year-old has a professional record of 64-5.
He followed his older brother Vitali Klitschko into boxing.
The two brothers never fought each because they didn’t want to break a promise to their mother. Vitali retired in 2013.
Klitschko started his career by winning a gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. So began a dominant career that included wins over Bryant Jennings, Lamon Brewster, Chris Byrd, Kubrat Pulev, David Haye, and many others that fell in his way to glory.
It was in 2015 when Klitschko looked to slow down. He faced Tyson Fury in a title bout and lost the championships.
He tried to reclaim the WBA and IBF titles against a much younger Anthony Joshua but failed to do so in a very closely contested, and heated bout between the two class A boxers. He took a few weeks off when talks of his and Joshua’s rematch were happening.
It seems that he mulling retirement the whole time.
We here at RDX wish the most dominant heavyweight of all time and a legend amongst legends farewell and a great ‘second career’.
Thank You, Wladimir Klitschko for the memories.
