Former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko was secretly planning a comeback at the age of 48 to challenge IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois for the title. Klitschko has not fought since losing to Anthony Joshua via 11th-round knockout on April 29, 2017, and has given up on the idea of returning to the ring.
U Daily Mail reports that the IBF was “wary” of the idea of Sanctioning the Klitschko-Dubois fight, which is understandable, given the enormous backlash that would have erupted if the match had happened.
Had the fight gone ahead, Klitschko could have surpassed George Foreman’s record of being the longest-serving heavyweight champion had he been victorious. Of course, the chances of Wladimir defeating Dubois would be incredibly slim to the point of being physically impossible.
Klitschko had always had a chin problem during his career, losing by knockout to the journalist Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster, Tyson Fury and Joshua. He also had stamina issues, which resulted in gassing in his fight against Puritty, Joshua and Brewster.
Wladimir’s Best wins
- David Haye
- Samuel Peter
- Chris Byrd
- Tony Thompson
- Lamon Brewster
- Calvin Brock
It is believed that the huge amount of criticism from the recent fight of the influencer Jake Paul against the 58-year-old Mike Tyson on November 15, made the decision that the Klitschko fight will not happen.
The people putting up the money to finance the Klitschko vs. Dubois fight would have been criticized non-stop by the fans, especially if it ended with a first-round clash with Daniel obliterating the grizzled Wladimir.
The image of an old, wrinkled, gray-haired Klitschko getting knocked out in a round by Dubois would have led to non-stop criticism of the money that made this fight at the circus level.
The fans would like to see these fights stopped because they are bad for the sport, making a mockery of it and putting it in a negative light that makes it look fake.
You can’t have this in other sports like NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball (MLB). The commissioner of those leaves rejected the idea of a team full of senior players playing a first-level team as part of the league game that counted for records. He could make a joke of those sports, like with boxing.
