Klitschko trainer sensed defeat

Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer Johnathon Banks claims he knew the Ukrainian would lose to Tyson Fury three days before the fight.

Fury’s November 2015 defeat of the then-IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion was Klitschko’s first in 11 years, and remains one of the finest victories by any British fighter.

Klitschko returns to the ring against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, when he hopes to become a threetime world champion by again winning the IBF and WBA titles.

Both he and Banks insist defeat was the consequence of the 41-year-old experiencing an off night, but while it was so unexpected by almost everyone else, the trainer knew what was coming.

“I got it on the Thursday before the Fury fight,” said Banks, 34.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t describe it. Not until you’re in tune with your fighter will you know.

“You can’t say when the feeling comes, but when it hit me about Fury and Wladimir I had it in my head the whole time.”

The 27-year-old Joshua’s status as favourite for Saturday’s fight owes largely to the belief Klitschko’s defeat to Fury came because he is in decline and that he will struggle to resist the younger fighter’s power and athleticism.

Banks, however, warned: “That’s the same thing Michael Moorer thought when he fought (and lost to the ageing) George Foreman.

“He thought the same thing George Foreman thought when he fought (and lost to) Muhammad Ali in Zaire.

“George took what Ali did to him and did the exact same thing to Michael Moorer.

“There’s something about when an old man don’t back down from a fight, you better pay attention to the older guy. There’s something he knows that the young guy doesn’t know.”