Former world heavyweight champion mulling return to ring
Vitali Klitscho, 35, the older brother of IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, and himself a former WBC/WBO heavyweight champion, is contemplating returning to the ring after retiring in Nov. 2005 due to knee and back injuries.
After his unsuccessful bid for the mayoralty of Kiev left him somewhat adrift, and with the heavyweight division in worse shape than when he left, the big, strong, tough Ukrainian wants to return to the fray, and his ultimate opponent is of course Lennox Lewis.
Newspapers in Germany have reported that the elder Klitschko is looking for digs in Hamburg, home of Universum, where he can start getting back in shape with old his trainer Fritz Sdunek.
Reports indicate the money is there, the incentive is there, and apparently the will is there for Vitali to lace ‘em up another time. Assuming the Klitschko boys won’t ever fight each other, as they’ve pledged, will Vitali Klitschko, if he does return, mop up the rest of the division?
If he is not to badly damaged from his career and if he has the will to train and prepare, he will mop up the division and regain the title.
i agree with paul but ill only belive that hes cumin back is wen he cums back he wants lewis but that wont happen!
i love vitali and give him mad props but i still say wlad is the better brother and the savior of the division. he has all the skills and the trainer to become an all time great.
If he does come back I hope he has some tune-up fights before he takes on anybody of consequence. If Lewis wants to fight him then it won’t matter because they both suffer from ring rust and would be even. I hope Vitali comes back and even gets a rematch with Chris Byrd.
I’d love to see Vitali come back so he and Wladamir could rule the division. Before he retired, Vitali was THE MAN in the division and right now there is no one who can claim supremecy, although Wladamir is the most talented of the four champions. There is rumor of a Wladamir/Maskaev unification next spring and I’d pay to see Vitali against Briggs or Valuev. I think both the Klitschkos would be favored over the rest of this group.
Vitali is the better fighter than Wlad , just take a few facts into consideration. He has won every fight he entered (not officially) as a pro because he lost only due to injury and was never losing on the cards at the end of a fight. Vitali only had one fight that he won that wasnt a KO or TKO. He fought the best in Lennox Lewis , and took his best shots and gave out worse than he took. And, he has never been knocked down at all! I think Wlad is the bst now, but when Vitali returns, they have a great chance to achieve their dream, exspecially if Vitali can get the fights that Wlad cant. The possibilities are basically unlimited, they may run the heavyweight division for some time to come.
When Lennox retired, he did so with a clear conscience – he had done what he set out to do and the time was right to pass the torch to a younger, hungrier lion – Vitali. Vitali’s subsequent retirement was due to injury – it was premature – it didn’t feel right to anyone – probably least of all to Vitali. Every unbiased fan knew that had VK stayed healthy, he would have owned the division for the next 5 years. But injuries have been an issue for the former kickboxing champion – so he wisely left with his title. Assuming he is healthy, now would be a perfect time for the iron fist to come back and take back his division. The fact is, short of another injury, none of the current crop would have better than a 10 to 15% chance of beating him. Moreover, he still has more to prove. If he’d stayed healthy and had some real competition other than Lennox, I think he could have been one of the great champions of the last 20 years. He knows he can beat anyone out there – the question is, will he come back and finish his unfinished business?
Great news if it is true. Vitali is the best heavyweight out there (with only Wlad’s chin relegating him to #2). Along with Wlad he will rule the division. 2 belts each simultaneously and the Klitschko legacy will be assured!
I think that Is Vitali Klitschko Returning is good for heavyweight boxing because know there will be better fights.
Return of the KING. He never lost a fight, there where injuries thats all. Knocked everyone out. I think that he has decided that imortality is more important than health. Seriously thats what he thinks. Given that he has very rarely been seriously hit, ecept by Sanders and Lewis, he is not going to lose his mind. Rather imortal warrior with a bad knee and shoulder than someone who could have been… By the way; watch Vitaly on youtube and dont tell me that Brock would have lasted the first round.