Former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs) is reportedly considering returning after eight years of retirement. He wants to try and capture a world title at 49, but it seems farfetched.
Wladimir Klitschko hasn’t fought since suffering an eleventh-round knockout to Anthony Joshua on April 29, 2017. Klitschko was 41 then and had been inactive for two years, losing to Tyson Fury in 2015 by a lackluster 12-round decision.
Wladimir looked hellishly bad in those fights and in his second-round knockout loss to Corrie Sanders. Losing to the beatable Fury and Joshua showed that Wladimir no longer had that spark. He basically created the careers of those two British giants, AJ & Fury, because they likely would have never become stars if he’d done what he was supposed to and knocked them out.
Foreman’s Record
The Ring reports that Klitschko wants to break George Foreman’s record of being the oldest champion. On November 5, 1994, Foreman, who was 45 then, knocked out Moorer in the tenth round to capture the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles.
However, Foreman was in the ideal situation: facing a blown-up former 175-lb champion, Moorer, who was badly undersized for heavyweight competition.
It would be unfair to the many contenders waiting in line for a world title shot if Klitschko leapfrogged them and immediately challenged for a world title in his comeback.
The Usyk/Pulev Path
Klitschko’s only chance of winning a title in his comeback is to face WBA, WBC, and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk or WBA ‘regular’ belt-holder Kubrat Pulev. 11 years ago, Wladimir knocked out Pulev in the fifth round on November 15, 2014—he as 38 at the time.
He won’t succeed against IBF champion Daniel Dubois because he hits too hard, and Wladimir has never done well against those types of fighters.
Aggression Needed
If Klitschko is going to come back, he needs to let his hands go and fight with more aggression than he showed in his clashes against Joshua and Fury. In both losses, Wlad fought like he was afraid to throw for fear of being knocked out.
He had Joshua ready to be knocked out after dropping him in the sixth round at Wembley Stadium. Instead, Klitschko ignored his corner and tried to box Joshua, which allowed him to recover and return to stop him in the 11th.
In losing to Fury, Wlad didn’t fight aggressively, letting the younger fighter paw his way to victory. This was sad to watch because Wladimir had the power and hand speed advantage but wouldn’t pull the trigger.
If his former trainer, Emanuel Steward, were still alive at the time, he would have lit a fire on him by scolding him in the corner to attack
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