By Allan Fox: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KO’s) says he has zero interest in retiring from the sport despite his increasing age. Wladimir will be turning 37-years-old this month on March 25th, and he has a fight coming up in two months against fringe level contender Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15 KO’s) on May 4th at the SAP-Arena, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Wladimir has been taking severe criticism from boxing fans ever since the news came out that he’ll be facing Pianeta rather than a more talented contender ranked in a higher position than the #9 WBO, #12 WBA Pianeta.
Wladimir said to ESPN, “I feel young enough to not think about it [retirement]. And, of course, I’m looking forward to get a challenge, that’s my motivation. This competition never stops and as long as I’m healthy and motivated I will continue to do the job that I have been doing.”
Wladimir feels this way right now because things are still going well for him, as he’s had three consecutive easy fights against Jean-Marc Mormeck, Tony Thompson and Mariusz Wach. Wladimir is now on his way to having a fourth consecutive easy fight with his bout against the weak-punching Pianeta in May.
Of course, Wladimir’s not going to want to walk away from the sport at this time when he’s making millions each time he fights no matter who he faces. Wladimir gets big cash from his fights in Germany, and there’s no real reason for him to step it up and face someone better in the heavyweight division like Tyson Fury, Kubrat Pulev, Bryant Jennings, Magomed Abdusalov or David Price.
Wladimir’s brother WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has the boxing world waiting in limbo for him to make a decision about whether he’ll continue his career or retire. If he does decide to continue fighting, it’s not likely that he’ll face anyone remotely good.
Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye has been trying to get a fight with him for over a year, but it’s pretty clear that he’s not going to get a fight with him. Vitali doesn’t seem to want the fight.
Once Wladimir gets stopped in the future or beaten by a decision, we’ll likely see him whistling a different tune about retiring. If he gets dominated by someone that he doesn’t have a good chance of beating in a rematch, then he’ll probably retire rather than taking a risk of getting beaten again.
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