Vitali Klitschko: Will He Ever Fight Again?

Former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, who has now been injured causing the five consecutive delays in bouts, is now set to fight the winner of Oleg Maskaev vs Samuel Peter, a bout which takes place in February 2008. However, With Vitali’s Emeritus status (read: unearned) as a mandatory challenger, the questiuon remains whether he can stay healthy enough to ever make the bout with the winner. His back, knee and shoulder has proven to be quite fragile as his career has progressed, especially in recent years as he’s aged. Now, at 37 - make it 38 by the time he fights the winner of Maskaev-Peter - it remains questionable that he can even make out of his training camps in one piece without injuring himself badly. A large part of the blame lays with him, for he was injured in 2005 while running in cold weather in Germany.

Why Vitali, a multi-millionaire, should choose a risky cold climate to train doesn’t make much sense, especially in light of his his history of severe injuries. Whatever, the case the injuries - a torn MCL and bone bruise - made it necessary for him to retire temporarily from boxing.

After two years away from boxing, perhaps spurred on for a need for money, Vitali came out of retirement and was set to face Jameel McCline in October in a comeback bout. However, the bout was soon after canceled after Vitali once again re-injured his back, the same back that was previously operated on for an injury that he sustained while training for a bout with Larry Donald 2002.

As it is, even if Vitali does make it into a bout with Peter or Maskaev, it remains doubtful whether his brittle body can sustain the rigors of 12-round bout, minus an early knockout win for Vitali. However, with the amount of time that Vitali has been out of boxing combined with his age, you can pretty much rule out a knockout win for him.