Former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko had secretly been planning for a comeback at 48 to challenge IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois for the title. Klitschko hasn’t fought since losing to Anthony Joshua by an 11th-round knockout on April 29, 2017, and giving up on the idea of returning to the ring.
The Daily Mail reports that the IBF was “wary” of the idea of Sanctioning the Klitschko-Dubois fight, which is understandable, given the huge backlash that would have erupted had the match happened.
If the fight had gone through, Klitschko would have potentially surpassed George Foreman’s record of being the oldest heavyweight champion if he’d been victorious. Of course, the odds of Wladimir defeating Dubois would be incredibly slim to the point of it being physically impossible.
Klitschko had always had a chin problem during his career, losing by knockout to journeyman Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster, Tyson Fury and Joshua. He also had stamina issues as well, which resulted in him gassing in his fights against Puritty, Joshua and Brewster.
Wladimir’s Best wins
- David Haye
- Samuel Peter
- Chris Byrd
- Tony Thompson
- Lamon Brewster
- Calvin Brock
It’s believed that the huge amount of criticism from the influencer Jake Paul’s recent fight against 58-year-old Mike Tyson on November 15th factored into the decision for the Klitschko fight not to happen.
The people putting up the money to fund the Klitschko vs. Dubois fight would have been criticized non-stop by the fans, especially if it ended with a first-round blowout with Daniel obliterating the gray-haired Wladimir.
The image of an old, wrinkled, gray-haired Klitschko getting crushed in one round by Dubois would have led to nonstop criticism of the moneymen who put this circus-level fight on.
Fans would like to see these fights stopped because they are bad for the sport, making a mockery of it and putting it in a negative light that makes it seem fake.
You couldn’t have this in other sports like the NFL, NBA, or Major League Baseball [MLB]. The commissioner of those leaves would reject the idea of a team filled with older players playing a top-level team as part of league play that would count on records. It would make a joke out of those sports, just as it’s doing with boxing.
