November 16, 2024

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO GETS AMNESIA WHEN TOPIC TURNS TO TYSON FURY

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHOWTIME
ringtv.com

You wouldn’t want to talk about it either.

Wladimir Klitschko seemed to suffer from an extreme case of amnesia when the topic of his 2015 loss to Tyson Fury came up at a press conference on Tuesday. Klitschko repeatedly declined to discuss his disastrous effort in which he lost his three world heavyweight titles in a sluggish and ineffective performance. It was almost as if someone had scrubbed the memory of that night from his psyche. And maybe that’ s not a bad thing for the 40-year-old ex-champion, who underwent a hellish 2016 as Fury pulled out of two scheduled rematches before vacating the titles to undergo treatment for personal issues.

Klitschko seemed to grimace whenever he was asked about Fury. Does he need to avenge his loss to Fury before his career is over? “I will ignore this question,” Klitschko told RingTV.com before a press conference to hype his April 29 bout with IBF heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua for the IBF and vacant WBA titles in London’s Wembley Stadium. “It’s not on topic anymore.” Klitschko was asked a handful of times on Tuesday different variations of that question and every time he batted it away as if he was slamming a grape with his fist.

Klitschko had a series of distractions such as the birth of his child before the first fight with Fury — how did that affect you? “I’m sorry, I will skip that question, too,” Klitschko demurred. “It doesn’t make any sense to talk about the past. I was trying to make this fight (with Fury). For certain reasons it didn’t. I don’t care about it anymore. I’m just looking forward.”

You said you made a mistake in your first fight. Can you please explain what mistakes you made? Klitschko looked as if he had swallowed a bug. “It doesn’t make sense to talk about the past,” he said. “What’s done is done and it’s good that I lost because I do look different and it’s good for my motivation. So I’m highly motivated. So I’m looking forward to this challenge and not looking at the past.”

The closest he would come to discussing Fury was when he was asked if he was confident he still had it after his performance on Nov. 28, 2015 in Germany suggested on that night anyway that his best days may be behind him. “I know I still got it,” he told reporters, finally flashing a smile.

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