Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitschko, who was supposed to fight Hasim Rahman for the WBC world championship title on November 12, will never enter the ring as a boxer again. On Wednesday, a statement was posted on the official website of the Klitschko brothers, from which it follows that Vitali Klitschko is tired of injuries and is therefore retiring from his sports career.
The boxer made this decision after a medical examination and emergency surgery performed by the director of the sports medicine department at the "Kerlan-Jobe" clinic in Inglewood, California, Dr. Neal ElAttrache. During the surgery, Vitali received a transplant of the damaged cruciate ligament.
"Lately I have been fighting not so much against opponents as against my own injuries," stated Vitali Klitschko. "I made the difficult decision to leave the sport at the peak of my boxing career, and I hand the championship belt over to the World Boxing Council.
Recall that after a knee injury last week, Vitali Klitschko stated that he would not be able to box against Rahman. The WBC met the boxer halfway regarding the championship title held by Klitschko senior and postponed his fight with Rahman. As it turned out, Rahman will have to fight someone else for this belt.
Recall that in his career, Vitali Klitschko had to postpone his bouts several times due to injury. This happened several times with Rahman. And the fight against Chris Byrd was lost by Klitschko senior after a shoulder injury.
In the professional ring, Klitschko fought 37 bouts, winning 35 and losing two. In the amateur ring, Vitali Klitschko was a silver medalist at the world championship.
It is also worth noting that since the spring of this year, rumors began to spread in Kyiv that Vitali Klitschko would run for mayor of Kyiv. Recently, this information was confirmed by unofficial but reliable sources. At present, the mayor of Kyiv is a protégé of the Klitschko brothers – Oleksandr Omelchenko.
In the political life of Ukraine, the Klitschkos also took part in the parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2002, when they campaigned for people to vote for the "Yednist" party. In the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections, the Klitschkos supported Viktor Yushchenko.