Wladimir Klitschko retires from boxing.

You're a ****ing idiot. He's 41 and was deffo not #1. He got tactically beaten by Fury in his last fight. You DKSAB...

 

smart decision. still got his brain and has left us with a great legacy dominating the HW division. i woulda retired long ago and spent the rest of my days pumping hayden panettiere

 

Boxrec already had the rematch set for November, did they jump the gun or did the deal get finalized only to have Wlad change his mind and retire. Another ATG hangs'em up, atta boy Wlad atta boy.

 

You're not ranked by your age.

Fury became the man after he beat Wlad , then Wlad dropped down to #1. .The same position Byrd was in 2006 .

Byrd was ranked #1 in 2006 and Wlad beat him to start his reign. That was 10 years after Wlad turned pro.

It only took Joshua 3 years and 17 fights to fight and beat the #1 ranked HW.

 

3 and a half, 18 fights, and got dropped by a 41 year old with ring rust. Who had also been beaten in his last fight. Oh and did i mention he was 41 years old?

 

Wladimir installed at #6 all time by boxrec on 1616 points which makes him the greatest wholly European descent hw of all time.

 

Maybe AJ should take Wilder?

 

I'm glad personally. I didn't want to see him falling around the canvas again, there something not right about seeing a man of this class in that predicament. He went out like a great fighter should, fighting until they had to pull him out, damn near winning in the process. All the advantages of youth gone. Smart choice for one of the smartest boxers of all time.

 

He should! He would get paid well & have another belt for only a few minutes work!

 

I've been a long time detractor of Wladimirs boxing style which throughout his career had relegated the Heavyweight scene to the footnotes of page 8 in the sports papers. However I've always admired him as an ambassador and role model outside the ring.

As someone brought up on warrior/fighters like Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton and Holmes, throughout the late 70s, 80s and 90s I've had to witness and endure the decline in respect for the man holding the Heavyweight title. The conveyor of US based World Heavyweight Champions who brought the title into disrepute with a series of Rápë, Murder, armed robbery and assault convictions has been hard to observe.

Lennox Lewis began to redress that balance and Wladimir Klitschko has continued to conduct himself with dignity and integrity which has brought some semblence of respect back for the greatest title in world sport.

He deserves to go out on his terms and off the back of a classic heavyweight title fight which, although defeated, perhaps revealed him at his best as a fighter.

Good Luck Wlad and long lasting good health in the future.

 

Wlad is someone that I typically rooted against in the ring, but someone I came to like outside of it. Good for him for retiring at an appropriate time, and for continually finding ways to prove me wrong during his boxing career.

 

Great Boxer. HOF bound for sure! Happy he made this decision. I will enjoy re-watching his bouts from here on.

 

As expected. With the drawn out decision it was pretty clear he was going to retire, his hesitation was a clear sign of doubt in regards to whether he still had the drive to continue.

He had a good career and after those early losses did a remarkable job in rebuilding himself into the dominant champion he became. His final fight against Joshua was a career highlight and showed he could be more than a spoiler, it's a real shame the only other good heavyweight in his era was his own brother, would of done wonders for his legacy had he actually had some competition, but he can't be blamed for that, he was utterly dominant and you couldn't ask for more than that I guess.

 

I feel great about this. Last thing I wanted was to watch wlad get beaten down