Wladimir Klitschko has long teased a return to the ring and continues to refuse to rule it out.
Alongside his brother Vitali, Klitschko dominated the heavyweight division between 2004 and 2015 before suffering a loss to Tyson Fury and losing his unified belts. He returned two years later for a fire-fight with Anthony Joshua but ultimately came up short again, this time inside the distance.
Klitschko would hang up the gloves then with a record of 64 victories from 69 fights, holding the record for most wins and title defences of the unified championship.
Should he indeed decide to come back, there are plenty who would take the fight, not least MMA superstar Francis Ngannou, who has also lost to Fury and ‘AJ’ in his two boxing bouts.
When speaking to Sportsbook Review about his ring return, Ngannou named Klitschko as a potential.
“Wladimir Klitschko could be an option.”
While a bout with Ngannou represents an easier return for the Ukrainian compared to some of the current top contenders, he has made it clear that his comeback would be focused on breaking George Foreman’s record as the oldest heavyweight world champion in history. Ngannou, as box office as he is, cannot provide that.
Klitschko will instead have eyes on the winner of the Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker fight at the end of this month. Should Dubois keep a hold of his belt, he has already said he would be happy to welcome the former long-reigning champion back into the game.
However, another Ukrainian in Oleksandr Usyk – who would never step through the ropes with his countryman Klitschko – may halt that, as he himself is targeting the winner of Dubois-Parker for a chance to become two-time undisputed in the division.
