He may have lost on Saturday and his 18-fight title defense streak to go along with it, but former heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko still accomplished a major feat.
In the last 40 years, only three men have entered the ring at the age of 39 as world champions. They include Oleg Maskaev, Vitali Klitschko, and Wladimir Klitschko.
The elder of the two Klitschko brothers, Vitali, was the only one of the three to go on to retain the title. Klitschko routed former champion Shannon Briggs and went on to defend his belt four more times before hanging up his gloves.
Maskaev, an old rival of Klitschko’s from the amateurs, turned 39 six days before a scheduled defence of his then-WBC title against Samuel Peter.
Unfortunately for the Russian, he was stopped inside six rounds.
Legendary fighter George Foreman could also be added into this elite group as he became the oldest heavyweight champion in history at age 45. Moreover, he broke the record for the fighter with the longest interval between his first and second world titles.
Was Klitschko’s defeat at the hands of Fury still shocking? Absolutely. Klitschko landed 144 out of 545 punches against Jennings and connected on 52 of 231 blows against Fury.
This calculates to a 63.90 percent drop in punches landed and a 57.61 percent drop in punches thrown in just over seven months since his last fight.
Unfortunately for Klitschko, this fight will be on the minds of boxing fans for a long time. Was he too old, injured, or shot?
We do not know.
Some people will say, ‘Hey, Bernard Hopkins was still looking healthy at 48 years old.’ Yes, Hopkins was still in his prime when many fighters were shot.
Three of Klitschko’s four defeats resulted in TKO’s at the hands of Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders, and Lamon Brewster. Hopkins, on the contrary, has never been stopped, let alone rarely put on the floor in 27 years.
Fury was certainly an awkward task for Klitschko, just the second taller fighter he has faced in his career, with the other being 6’7″ ½ Mariusz Wach.
Klitschko dominated Wach and won just about every round. Following the fight, Wach tested positive for steroids, and was suspended one year by the German Boxing Federation.
Casting aside the questions, there is no denying the connatural greatness that is Wladimir Klitschko.
No one gets to 18 consecutive title defenses, the third-best in heavyweight history, without impeccable skill.
Not everyone gets to have a happy ending in the sport of boxing; that we know all too much of, but it is possible for Klitschko to reach deep down, and get the title back if he still has what it takes.
– Ryan O’Hara @OHaraSports
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