I'M A MAN MOUNTAIN
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO knows comparing himself to Mount Everest sounds big-headed. But he reckons it’s the only way to explain how Tyson Fury destroyed himself but could not destroy him. “This may sound arrogant but, for example, a parallel is Mount Everest,” said Klitschko, 41, when asked to assess his four career defeats. “Everest has been there for a long time and will be there for a long time. You can climb it during a certain period of time – during two weeks in April, I believe. You can get to the top and say, ‘I conquered Everest!’ – but then you’ve got to run down because it’s going to take you down if you miss the time. “A lot of people died there. Some made it, not many, but some made it back. But Mount Everest is still there. “Is Mount Everest defeated? It’s still there and it’s going to take another life this April.
Shadow
“I have guys who have conquered me in certain periods of time out of the 68 fights. Four of them have made it out of a 21-year professional career. The rest didn’t. I’m still here, they’re not.”
Klitschko is currently at his Stanglwirt training base in Austria preparing to topple IBF title holder Anthony Joshua on April 29 at Wembley Stadium. He is going through his paces in the shadow of a peak known as the ‘Wild Emperor’, so a mountain metaphor from the former ruler of the heavyweight division seems fitting.
Ross Puritty, Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Fury are the four men that have beaten Klitschko in his 68 fights.
Only Brewster managed to defend the world title snatched from the Ukrainian, while all the others never reached such a peak again, despite beating one of the great heavyweights.
There is no doubt Fury’s fall from grace has been the steepest after the Manchester-born traveller shocked the world when he outboxed and outfoxed Klitschko 18 months ago in Dusseldorf.
Since then Fury’s life has spiralled out of control, with a rematch shelved last year as he turned to cocaine while in the grip of depression.
There is also a UK Anti-Doping case hanging over him for a performance-enhancing drug and it is clear why Klitschko has closed the book on what was his darkest defeat.
“It was kind of unfinished business because I would have loved a rematch,” said Klitschko.
“Unfortunately, I cannot change it or have a second shot, like in golf – there’s no mulligan for me. It is what it is. I’m not a destroyed man. I
don’t feel bitten. I lost but I don’t feel bitten. You might disagree. I lost, I didn’t do enough to win.
“I was thinking about it for a year, trying to get this rematch. And then when it all went downhill, you just shake it off and keep on going.
“The man destroyed himself. I can’t have a chance to fight him again. It’s like a book. You close the book, put it on the shelf, keep on reading another one.”
The next chapter for Klitschko is Joshua, the new kid on the block who he will face in front of 90,000 fans in London in just over two weeks.
Klitschko has been preparing in the makeshift boxing gym at the Stanglwirt spa resort for all his fights since 2003, back when boxing was not even on the mind of a 14-year-old Joshua.
But now videos of Joshua’s 18 pro fights play on a constant loop as Klitschko works with trainer Johnathon Banks and sparring partners, including world title challenger Gerald Washington.
Joshua, though, has been in this very same ring already, having sparred with Klitschko in 2014 before the Ukrainian fought Kubrat Pulev.
Observing
“He impressed me with his attitude,” said Klitschko of the sparring session. “He was very raw. I have to say the truth, but he was the Olympic champion, he carried himself well, I liked his attitude.
“He was in the background and learning. Sometimes you need to be quiet and just watch. He was observing everything, but you can’t see everything.”
Joshua has gone on to add the IBF title to his Olympic gold medal and will look to win the WBA belt in this fight as well.
But Klitschko believes he has his swagger back and, as the slogan on his training gear says, it is his ‘obsession’ to become a three-time heavyweight champion. Asked what fight Joshua can expect, the warning was clear: “Klitschko reloaded. That’s what you’re going to see.”