Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr is backing Wladimir Klitschko to make a shock return to the ring.
Klitschko, who hasn’t fought since his dramatic loss to Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in 2017, has hinted at coming out of retirement with the aim of beating George Foreman’s record as the oldest every world heavyweight champion.
Roy Jones Jr Backs Wladimir Klitschko To Come Out Of Retirement
The world of boxing recently saw Mike Tyson return to the ring at 58-years-old to fight Jake Paul last year.
The prospect of legends of the sport returning to the ring in their later years isn’t so far fetched anymore, with a lot of fighters doing so. Look at Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s next fight is for the WBC World Welterweight Title against Mario Barrios, despite the fact he has been retired for four years.
Now, former dominant world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has teased a possible return to action. If these rumors are true, Roy Jones Jr is one man who certainly isn’t averse to ageing fighters returning to the ring and making a retirement U-turn.
Jones is backing ‘Dr Steelhammer’ to make a successful ring return, if he dusts off his gloves and goes through the ropes once again.
Speaking to Prime Casino in a recent interview, the former four-weight world champion believes that the Ukrainian could make a huge success of his return, if indeed it happens:
“Wladimir Klitschko is big enough to do anything. See, what people don’t realise is that for heavyweights, it is a little easier to make a comeback.
“When you’re that big and you do have power and IQ-wise, Klitschko to me is a little more advanced than Tyson Fury. Power-wise, he’s definitely more advanced than Fury. So why couldn’t he come back? If he could take the punch, why not?” concluded Jones Jr.
Jones Jr: ‘Klitschko To me Is A Little More Advanced Than Tyson Fury’
Roy Jones Jr firmly believes that if he were to return, Wladimir Klitschko still has what it takes to become champion of the world again.
Klitschko finished his professional boxing career with two successive losses to two British heavyweights. Tyson Fury first beat the Ukrainian in 2015 in Germany, before Anthony Joshua, who is in talks of signing a three-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, stopped ‘Dr Steelhammer’ in their Wembley Stadium showdown in 2017.
The only concern that Jones Jr has over Klitschko’s return is how his chin would hold up. The American multi-weight world champion sounded a note of caution about Klitschko’s punch resistance, which won’t have got any better at 49-years-old:
“The chin is always gonna be a problem for Klitschko. You know that was one of his weaknesses in his prime – if you could get to the chin, you could get him. But you gotta get to it,” explained Jones Jr.
Who Would Wladimir Klitschko Fight If He Came Out Of Retirement?
Should Wladimir Klitschko return to the ring and make a retirement U-turn, the question of who could stand in the opposite corner as his opponent.
If Klitschko were to come back, there would undoubtedly be a long queue of fighters wanting a shot at fighting the former long-reigning world heavyweight king.
The Ukrainian has made is abundantly clear that he wants to break George Foreman’s record of the oldest world heavyweight champion of all time. To do this, Klitschko would need to win one of the heavyweight belts, which are currently held by Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
However, some fighters have already expressed an interest of facing Klitschko in his return bout. WBC Interim Title holder Agit Kabayel has suggested he could be the man to face ‘Dr Steelhammer’ on his return.
The Usyk fight simply wouldn’t happen as both are Ukrainian too. If Klitschko is to pick up a belt and break Foreman’s record, they will need to become scattered before Klitschko could strike and become the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
