Wladimir Klitschko is currently manning the defense of Ukraine. Ukraine has been trying to stave off Russian forces since late March. Regardless of what’s going on in the country – Klitschko still thinks about boxing.
The 40 year old is a former WBC Heavyweight champion.
Klitschko congratulated Fury and told BILD: “I also learned that despite the war, you shouldn’t forget life. Sport is part of my life. I’m delighted that Tyson Fury won.”
“Who knows, I don’t want to promise anything big here, but if I’m in good shape and, above all, that the war in Ukraine will soon come to an end, and that our Borders exist without any invasion coming from Russia, then in the end who knows?”
Fury might be much less excited by this development.
In 2015, Fury was scheduled to face the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Klitschko was one of the most dominant champions at that time. The Ukrainian boxer was undefeated in his last 22 and had been defending world titles for years, even before Fury started boxing professionally.
During a rather slow boxing contest, Fury was able to dethrone Klitschko earning a unanimous decision victory. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 115–112, 115–112, and 116–111.
“This is a dream come true. We worked so hard for this. I’ve done it. It’s hard to come to foreign countries and get decisions. It just means so much to me to come here and get the decision.” Fury said at the post-fight interview.
What was supposed to be the highlight of Fury’s boxing career, ended up almost being his downfall.
After winning the world titles, Fury accepted an instant rematch against Klitschko. The bout was scheduled for July of 2016.
However, during the preparations for the upcoming rematch, Fury stated that he had “no motivation” to face Klitschko again. The champion was reported to have gained an enormous amount of weight, weighing in around 330lbs just months before the scheduled contest.
Things would turn for the worse as Fury was later charged by UK anti-doping with the presence of nandrolone (an anabolic) in his blood sample. The bout was postponed and Fury denied the accusations. Just a couple of months after his failed test, Fury once again failed a test. This time another substance was to blame. Fury at the time reported he was going through depression.
Their rivalry worsened when Fury pulled out of the rematch twice as his life spiraled out of control.