MCGUIGAN Glad legend Wlad’s gone at right time

BOXING’S No.1 EXPERT

SO farewell Wladimir Klitschko. What a great ambassador for boxing he has been, and will continue to be in retirement.

I’m not surprised he decided against going again. He fought brilliantly to take Anthony Joshua to the brink of defeat, had him out on his feet, one punch from glory.

What a way to leave the stage. Klitschko had nothing to prove. He did not have to beat Joshua to establish a legacy. Ten years as world heavyweight champion did that.

He just had to do himself justice, and he did. A rematch would not in my view have produced a different outcome.

Klitschko (left) has not made many mistakes and recognised this was the right time to quit. Father time beat him as much as Joshua. He showed glimpses of his best at Wembley, and demonstrated also how age catches up with us all.

He just could not keep the younger, fresher man off him in the end. No shame there. He will be remembered as an all-time great. His record and his longevity assure him of that.

How he compares against the likes of Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield is a question that will have us going around in circles.

It’s a subjective business. What I would say is, at 6ft 7in and 17-plus stone, he would probably have been too big for some of history’s great heroes.

That’s the problem with crossing epochs, and with making lists. Klitschko reigned in his era. That’s good enough for me.