Wladimir Klitschko Denies Dillian Whyte Fight Rumors, Calls It “Fake News”

Wladimir Klitschko had been rumored to make a return to the sport against Dillian Whyte, but those rumors have been shut down. 

Klitschko, the former unified heavyweight champion, told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix that he will not end his two-year retirement to face Whyte later this spring. According to Mannix, Klitschko called the rumors “fake news,” essentially shutting down a comeback from one of boxing’s most dominant world heavyweight champions. 

There had been unsubstantiated rumors that Klitschko was ending his retirement and Whyte further fueled rumors when he recently appeared on talkSPORT and said he would fight Klitschko if he made a return. Whyte stated that he would be up to fight Klitschko at Wembley Stadium, which is currently reserved for April 13 for Anthony Joshua’s next heavyweight title defense, and that he would even knock out the Ukrainian.

“I’ll fight anyone and I’ll fight Wladimir Klitschko and knock him out if he comes back. I’ll definitely knock him out,” Whyte said.

The 42-year-old Klitschko retired in late 2017, months after Klitschko was stopped in the 11th round against Joshua at Wembley Stadium. That fight, which won Fightful’s Boxing Fight of the Year award for 2017, was for the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles.

The two boxers were supposed to have a rematch later that year, but Klitschko decided to hang up his gloves instead of moving forward with the rematch. Klitschko, who ended his career with a 64-5 record, held at least one world heavyweight from 2006-2015, winning the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles during that span, making 18 successful title defenses.