Ukrainian heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko is considered one of the greatest modern heavyweights thanks to his incredible achievements.
First becoming a world champion in 2001, Klitschko was still fighting to be the best in the division all the way up until 2017.
With just five losses in 69 fights, only the elite heavyweights were able to get the better of ‘Dr. Steelhammer’, including Tyson Fury, one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
Klitschko’s career spanned 21 years, as he cemented his legacy as one of the greats of the 21st century. Always considered an entertaining watch, one of the best brawls that Klitschko was involved in was the last of his career.
Wladimir Klitschko’s last fight is one of the greatest modern heavyweight showdowns
In April 2017, Klitschko aimed to regain world heavyweight glory as he took on Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium.
The Ukrainian was making a return to the ring after almost two years of absence, following a loss to Fury. However, Klitschko was looking to hand Joshua the first defeat of his career, as ‘AJ’ went into the bout with an 18-0 record.
Joshua was coming off of a third-round stoppage over Eric Molina, where he captured the IBF World Heavyweight title.
The vacant WBA and IBO World Heavyweight titles were also on the line in the bout that didn’t fail to deliver.
The fight began to heat up in the fifth round when Joshua seemingly turned up the pace and began to press his opponent. The pressure would pay off as the Ukrainian would hit the floor following a garage of punches.
However, despite being sent to the canvas, Klitschko would have his own success after he recovered. Towards the end of the round, it was Joshua who was in survival mode as the British fighter was clearly unsteady following damage dealt by Klitschko.
In the following round, Klitschko was able to score his own knockdown. A destructive right hand from the Ukranian would crash Joshua to the canvas, however, ‘AJ’ would beat the count and recover.
Despite being knocked down, it would be Joshua who would prevail as the victor of the fight. The 11th round would see Klitschko hit the canvas two more times, with the stoppage coming just after the second knockdown.
The bout would be the final outing of Klitschko’s career, however, the entertaining bout will be remembered for decades.
Tyson Fury was eyed by Turki Alalshikh for Wladimir Klitschko’s boxing return
Klitschko has displayed interest in making a return to boxing in 2025, eight years after his last professional outing.
The Ukrainian was the subject of many theoretical matchups following the discussions, including Klitschko getting called out by Shannon Briggs.
However, boxing’s most powerful man Turki Alalshikh expressed interest in making a rematch between Klitschko and Fury in a 2024 interview with Ariel Helwani.
Ahead of Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2, Alalshikh said that should Fury have won his fight with Usyk, it would have been a ‘dream’ for Klitschko to get the chance to fight the winner.
However, Fury was the loser of the rematch with Usyk and retired the following month. This means should the fight happen in 2025, both fighters would have to come out of retirement.