Berlin: Wladimir Klitschko ruled the heavyweight scene with a steel glove for more than a decade yet it was a defeat by Anthony Joshua which ensured the Ukrainian who retired Thursday with the universal respect that eluded him for so long.
Often denigrated for a robotic style, short on flair, Klitschko reigned supreme in a heavyweight era suffering from a dearth of box office names. He had a win-loss record of 64-6.
The 41-year-old dispatched a regular supply of average fighters to reach 64 career victories yet few, if any of them, will feature in a showreel of the sport’s greatest contests.
Instead it will be his final fight, against Britain’s Joshua, that will be define Klitschko’s legacy. Despite a 14-year age gap and fighting in front of a partisan 90,000 Wembley Stadium crowd, Klitschko produced arguably his best performance before being stopped in the 11th round of a sensational fight.
Had he finished off a wobbling Joshua in the sixth round Klitschko would have become only the second fighter after George Foreman to win a recognised version of the world title as a 40-something.
Yet, even in defeat, a global audience finally gave the Germany-based fighter the acclaim he deserved for a career in which he carried the sport so often dragged into the gutter with professionalism and dignity.
“Twenty-seven years ago I started my journey,” Klitschko said in the video announcing his decision to retire. “And it was the best choice of profession I could have ever made.
“At some point in our lives we need to, or just want to, switch our careers and get ourselves ready for the next chapter and chart a course towards fresh challenges. Obviously I am not an exception to this and now is my turn,” added the boxer.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Volodymyr Groysman, said on Facebook: “Thank you for the all-time great fights and victories! I wish you successes and achievements on new fronts.”