Wladimir Klitschko Injured, Will Not Compete In December Fight Against Anthony Joshua
Wladimir Klitschko can’t catch a break. After Tyson Fury had not been cleared to fight Klitschko in the much-anticipated rematch on two separate occasions, Klitschko got injured and will not fight for the rest of the year.
According to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Klitschko suffered a calf injury and will not fight IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on December 10. That fight was never made official, but negotiations had been teetering towards making the heavyweight superfight a reality. The injury will keep the former unified heavyweight champion out until 2017, marking the first time Klitschko had not fought in a fight in a full calendar year.
There is no word on who Joshua will face now, but promoter Eddie Hearn said an announcement is to be expected in the following days. Hearn has a few names lined up, such as David Price and Eric Molina, but no one name is the favorite to be Klitschko’s replacement.
The two sides had been negotiating for some time now after Fury was deemed medically unfit to compete in a rematch against Klitschko and Fury’s titles had been stripped. Klitschko had been waiting word from the WBA on whether or not it’s vacant title would be up for grabs in the December 10 fight.
Klitschko last fought in November of 2015 when he suffered a shocking upset to Fury and so Klitschko lost the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring and lineal heavyweight titles. There are still talks of making the Klitschko vs. Joshua fight happening, but now it would take place some time in the early part of 2017.
