A new era and changing of the guard has truly been ushered in by the announcement of Wladimir Klitschko’s retirement from boxing.
Choosing not to exercise the rematch clause in his contract for the record-breaking bout at Wembley Stadium with Anthony Joshua - which resulted in a loss for the Ukrainian but was widely-heralded as the heavyweight division’s best fight since the 90s heyday of Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and to a reduced extent Mike Tyson - Klitschko bows down as arguably the greatest of the modern era, a dominant force who along with his brother Vitali had a stranglehold on the weight class that took in an unprecedented 11-year unbeaten run.
That came to an abrupt end after being outfoxed and outpointed by Tyson Fury, whose personal issues deprived Klitschko of the chance to win back his IBF, WBA and WBO belts. Through Joshua, the offer of the first-mentioned two of those straps became available and despite being 41, Klitschko rolled back the years and demonstrated elite athleticism that had been a constant throughout his glittering 21-year tenure – putting the champion down in the fifth round for the first time in his career before being stopped himself in the 11th.
Claiming to have achieved everything he had “dreamed of” as an amateur and a professional, Klitschko claimed super-heavyweight gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games before embarking on a 24-0 unbeaten streak ended by Ross Puritty. He never fought in Ukraine again, instead, with the help of the Sauerlands, making Germany his base with the odd clash in the US via HBO.
After clinching the WBO title with a win over Chris Byrd at the turn of the Millennium, upsets at the hands of Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster were rectified under the tutelage of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, who oversaw Klitschko’s camps until his unfortunate passing in 2012 and, communicated in the build-up to the Joshua showdown, has been sorely missed by his former charge.
As mentioned, Klitschko went over a decade unbeaten after Steward had identified areas for improvement in his game. Also part of his haul were the IBO, Ring Magazine and lineal titles, the WBC evading him due to often being held by brother Vitali with the two vowing to never face one another in the squared circle as a promise to their mother. Nevertheless, a result of their uncontested rule, 2006-2015 will forever be known as the “Klitschko era”.
Eluding to a “second career after sports” but explaining no further, it remains to be seen whether Wladimir will follow Vitali into politics. Fluent in four languages with a PhD degree, hence the ring name “Dr. Steelhammer”, his options remain open with his legacy cemented as one of the all-time greats with 64 wins in 69 contests as a two-time champion.
