By Gav Duthie: Through no fault of his own Wladimir Klitschko has admitted that this is the most inactive he has ever been in his career. He has not fought since his 12 round unanimous decision loss to Tyson Fury last November with the Mancunian heavyweight pulling out of two scheduled rematches in July and October.
Fury is citing depression for the latest call off which suggests this fight wont happen in the foreseeable future. In the last few days heavyweight prospects Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz have both stated they would take Fury’s place and Anthony Joshua has been mentioned for November. Wlad is not getting any younger and the question is will we see him again before the year is out.
Fury Disgrace
There was a lot of respect for Tyson Fury when he gave up the IBF title because he wanted to give Wladimir the chance of a rematch rather than face his mandatory challenger. The IBF wanted Fury to face Vyacheslav Glazkov but he refused. As a result we all assumed Fury-Klitschko 2 would take place late Spring or early summer but it hasn’t happened. During this lay off there have been 3 separate fights for the IBF title of Glazkov-Martin, Martin-Joshua and Joshua-Breazeale which means Klitschko has missed out on 3 potential fights waiting around for Fury. Rumours are rife that the WBA and WBO will strip Fury of his titles meaning Klitschko would be in line to win them back.
Should Fury be stripped?
It is uncommon but not unheard of for a boxer to suffer from depression. It can be a lonely sport with long lay offs between fight camps. Depression is not to be undermined and can be just as if not more serious than any physical injury. That being said other boxers should get the chance to fight for those titles.
The WBC have recently adopted a ‘Champion in recess’ strategy on 2 occasions with Cruiserweight Grigory Drozd and Lightweight Jorge Linares. In basic terms both fighters were injured (physically in these cases) and stripped of their titles. However because their inability to defend their titles was no fault of their own they were given the status of ‘Champion in recess’ meaning once they were fit they could fight for the title whenever they want. During their respective injury periods Tony Bellew picked up the WBC Cruiserweight title and Dejan Zlaticanin the lightweight version but the recess champions can face them ahead of any other obligations when they want. Drozd explained it gives others the chance to win a title. I think the WBA and WBO should follow suit and do the same for Tyson Fury. That way it gives high ranking fighters like Joseph Parker, Luis Ortiz, Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye the chance to win the belts and defend against Fury at a later date.
Klitschko
At the age of 40 many boxers will feel the time is right for them to take him on. Luis Ortiz certainly deserves a crack at the WBA title, UK fans would love to see him fight Dillian Whyte or even Derek Chisora who he has a rivalry with. It would be unwise for Klitschko to rematch Fury or face Anthony Joshua after such a long lay off at his age and risk further damage to his legacy.