The heavyweight division in boxing has seen some major upheaval this year. After years of being dominated by the Klitschko brothers, Tyson Fury came up and took Wladimir’s titles in a huge upset. Since then though, things have slowed to a standstill.
Two Fury-Klitschko rematches have bitten the dust due to issues on Fury’s side, the most recent being a positive test for cocaine and an inability to fight due to mental health issues. This led to him dropping his titles, which opened the door for a bout between Klitschko and British star Anthony Joshua. That bout looked to be almost completed for a December date.
Unfortunately, Dan Rafael of ESPN announced today that it will not be happening then after all due to a Klitschko injury:
“Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko suffered an injury and will not fight on Dec. 10, be it against IBF titleholder Anthony Joshua in England or somebody else on that date in Germany for the vacant WBA title, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN on Monday. The specific nature of the injury is unclear, but one source said it was a calf injury. However, the Klitschko and Joshua camps remain in talks to put together the fight for the first part of 2017. Klitschko was awaiting notification from the WBA on whether it would sanction a fight with Joshua on Dec. 10 -- most thought it wouldn't -- but now it doesn't matter what the organization decides. The decision has been delayed for several days.”
So, that’s that. The commissions will decide what to do with their titles, Joshua will have to wait, and Klitschko will heal up. As usual, nothing is simple in boxing.