The man made the right choice, from out here, the safer side. Wladimir Klitschko knew, his close family knew, that there was no way he was escaping a rematch with young gunner Anthony Joshua without taking punishment to the brain.
There would be head trauma..
So, the vet pondered and said that's it.
I'm out.
Props to the Ukrainian born hitter for doing it on his terms, at his time frame, and really, at the apex of our regard for him.
The 64-5 boxer used a safety first method of pugilism after getting his chin checked and wrecked and so his tussles were not often so fan friendly. Wladimir “Klinchko.”
But this method while impacting his legacy as a fighter, will be a winning choice in ten twenty thirty years, probably.
He is now 41, and learned what he needed to know, in his last two fights, that he is dissimilar to the masses in that he is a cut above of body and mind, but not immune from susceptibility to the sharp jab and powerful cross belonging to Father Time.
“Wladimir Klitschko earned his right into the Hall of Fame years ago,” said Peter Nelson, executive vice president, HBO Sports. “His accomplishments in the ring will be immortalized in the record books. Outside the ring, Wladimir is well-respected as a true ambassador to boxing and role model in sport, contributing vastly philanthropically as a leader of community activism and with a profound commitment to improving the lives of children worldwide. We are proud Wladimir and his team have been in the HBO Sports family for the majority of his 21-year career. We are excited for him and his family as he begins his next chapter.”
My last memory of him as a fighter will be showing a fighter's heart and trying ever so gamely to compete and prevail in wicked circumstances, versus that archetypical young lion.
Thanks for your service to the sport, Wladimir.
