Wladimir Klitschko has elected to decline his mandated rematch with Anthony Joshua, officially announcing his retirement from the sport. Without the Klitschko rematch for which he was granted an exemption, Joshua will be forced instead of fulfill his IBF mandated defense against Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev. The tentative date for that fight will either be at the end of October or beginning of November.
While this has been known from day one as a potential outcome, it is still surprising. With the amount of money on the table for the rematch, most thought that one last major payday made a lot of sense for Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs). Promoter Eddie Hearn had been acting in public as if he expected the fight to happen too. Every week or so there would be new information on the rematch such as Hearn discussing potential venues and dates. Yet, here we are.
Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) and Wlad Klitschko first fought in April with the young contender unseating the veteran kingpin by an eleventh round stoppage. In the fifth and sixth rounds that night, both fighters took turns nearly finishing the other. The fight captivated the viewing public so much that it is still in the discussion for fight of the year even though nothing happened for eight of the eleven rounds.
As a new opponent, Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) is worthy title challenger and a good fighter, but he is very unlikely to win. I have him ranked sixth in the division. In that regard, losing this rematch is a major blow to the rest of the year’s boxing calendar. Nevertheless, the band marches on.
