Wladimir Klitschko has retired from boxing, ending Anthony Joshua’s hopes of a Las Vegas rematch.
The Ukrainian lost to Joshua at Wembley in April after the Brit climbed off the canvas to knock out the ring legend in the penultimate round.
The rematch had been pencilled in for November 11 in Sin City but Joshua will now have to look elsewhere.
Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko
image: Mirror
Klitschko confirmed the news with a statement on his website which initially crashed due to the huge volume of traffic.
It read: “I deliberately took a few weeks to make my decision, to make sure I had enough distance from the fight at Wembley Stadium.
“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.
“I would have never imagined that I would have such a long and incredibly successful boxing career. I’m very thankful for this.
“Thanks to everyone who has always supported me. Especially my family, my team and my many fans.”
In a video posted on social media, he added: “Twenty seven years ago I started my journey in sport; it was the best decision I could have made.
“I’ve travelled the world, learned new languages, created businesses, built intellectual properties, helped people in need, become a scientist, entrepreneur, motivator, hotelier, trainer, investor and much more.
“I was and am still capable of doing all this because of the global appeal of boxing, my own talent and, most importantly, because of you, my loyal fans.
“At some point in our lives we need to, or want to, switch our careers and get ourselves ready for the next chapter. Obviously I am not an exception to this, now it is my turn.
“I’m doing this with the greatest of respect for the new challenges but also with tremendous excitement, passion, dedication, expectation and hoping that my next career, which I’ve been planning for several years, will be as successful, if not more, than my previous one.
“Instead of saying thanks and goodbye. I want you to continue to join me on this new and exciting journey. When we’re together, we are more creative, more efficient, more productive and simply stronger in every way. Together we are the driving force.”
Klitschko’s manager Bernd Bonte added: “Especially after this terrific fight at Wembley Stadium it was a very tough decision for Wladimir to make.
“But he has always emphasized that he wanted to retire if he didn’t have enough motivation anymore. Therefore this is definitively the right decision.
“Wladimir accomplished everything in his unique boxing career. He dominated the heavyweight division for over a decade.
“He fought in sold-out arenas and stadiums worldwide and millions of fans around the world watched his fights on TV.
“It has been a privilege for me to accompany Wladimir on this unique journey.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said: “I heard the news this morning from Bernd Boente that Wladimir Klitschko has decided to retire from boxing. We wish him all the success.
“He was an incredible ambassador. He’s had a great career. It’s unusual to bow out on a loss.
“He earned more respect in his last fight than his whole career. It was a epic night and a driving factor.
“He is a nice man. He can leave this sport with healthy bank account, his health intact and a legacy throughout the sport after the fight at Wembley.”
Klitschko, 41, ruled the heavyweight division for close to 10 years before he lost to Tyson Fury in 2015.
He returned after an 18-month lay-off to face Joshua in front of 90,000 people at the national stadium.
Klitschko was knocked down in the fifth round but rallied to drop Joshua in the seventh.
But it was the Brit who prevailed in the 11th session.
Klitschko made his professional debut in 1996 and went on to fight 69 times, winning 64 of his bouts.
He won his first world title in 2000 when he outpointed Chris Byrd but lost it three years later when Corrie Sanders knocked him out in the second round.
Lamon Brewster inflicted a second defeat on Klitschko in 2004 which prompted him to seek out renowned trainer Emmanuel Steward.
He regained one portion of the world title in 2006 and went on to add the WBA and WBO belts to his IBF strap.
Klitschko and his brother Vitali ruled the heavyweight division
(Image: AFP)
His brother Vitali completed the set by winning the WBC crown.
But Fury stunned the long-reigning champion in Germany two years ago to signal the beginning of the end.
The pair’s rematch was twice scheduled for 2016 – but on each occasion Fury pulled out.
That left Klitschko free to face Joshua – but he couldn’t quite pull off a dramatic victory.
Wladimir Klitschko has retired from boxing, ending Anthony Joshua’s hopes of a Las Vegas rematch.
Little over three months after the biggest win of his career, Anthony Joshua is eager to do it all again as he revealed the date of his next training camp, thus giving Wladimir Klitschko a tight deadline to agree to a rematch.
The initial bout on 29th April of this year saw Joshua stun the former heavyweight king in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley in what was dubbed one of the most exciting heavyweight fights since the glory days of 1990s.
The Independent revealed last month that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn flew out to Las Vegas with his manager Freddie Cunningham to discuss staging the money-spinning rematch on the famous Sin City strip.
Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, which will host the circus of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor later this month, is likely to be the destination should Klitschko accept the rematch, ahead of Cardiff’s Principality Stadium or a possible fight in Nigeria, the birthplace of Joshua’s mother.
If the 41-year-old Ukrainian does decide to retire instead of one final shot at regaining the WBA and IBF titles he lost to Tyson Fury two years ago, Joshua will be left to fight his mandatory challenger for the straps, Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev.
“I hope we can put a seal on it before the end of the month,” Joshua said. “If we fought November 11, starting August 22 is a three-month camp, so towards the end of the month, one way or the other (I’m expecting to know), because I’ve got to crack on.
“It was just fun, it was just entertaining. I’d do it again, definitely. And going to Vegas opens the door for the (WBC champion Deontay) Wilder fight.
“(Klitschko’s) not going to top what he’s already done but for 10 years people said he was boring because he was so dominant, but he got a lot of respect in defeat, so that should give him a real motivation (for a rematch).
“He’s got another chance to do it. I’d do it if I was him.” Says Joshua
Anthony Joshua
Photograph: getty images
Klitschko sent Joshua to the canvas for the first time in his career in their original fight and, immediately following the defeat, suggested he has himself to blame for a second consecutive loss by not keeping the pressure on the 27-year-old.
Joshua called those claims about his drop in the sixth round as “nonsense”, though, and instead repeated the admission of Klitschko’s late trainer Manny Steward, that the heavyweight lacks “killer instinct”.
“There’s a lot more to it than ‘I let him off the hook; that’s the only reason he beat me, I took my foot off the gas’,” Joshua added. “That’s nonsense. He’s been champion for 10 years, he knows better than that, so that’s not a good enough excuse.
“You have to have a killer instinct. No matter what people tell you, sometimes you’ve got to do it your way. Maybe Wladimir came up short for those reasons.
“Maybe it’s protecting his reputation. I can believe he said to himself ‘Cool, I’ve got him hurt, I’m going to get him out in three rounds but I need to gain my energy back because I’m too tired’.
“(But) he was cautious: he knows that if he comes steaming in he’s going to get knocked out himself, he was jittery, he was tired as well. There’s a lot more to it. It’s not that he let me off the hook: I don’t think I gave him an opportunity to finish me.
Anthony Joshua has been granted an exception by the IBF to fight Wladimir Klitschko for their heavyweight title, but the bout must take place before December 2.
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