A few weeks ago, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh revealed that he wants to see former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko return to the ring. He further claimed he wanted to give Klitschko a chance to beat George Foreman’s record and become the new oldest heavyweight champion.

The fans did not receive the news well and pleaded with His Excellency to drop the idea. However, it looks like not only HE Alalshikh but even Wladimir Klitschko is keen on the idea of returning. Ahead of the Tyson Fury–Oleksandr Usyk rematch, the 48-year-old took to his ‘X’ to give an update on his return.

Wladimir Klitschko’s huge update

‘Dr Steelhammer’ wrote, “There are a lot of rumors these days about a possible comeback,” to clear out any doubts from fans’ minds. He further added, “At the moment, I’m not concerned with my return to boxing, but with the return of russians to their country, outside Ukraine,” claiming that there are far more important things he is concerned about than his return to boxing.

However, the Ukrainian refused to rule out a possible return and revealed, “I’ve never stopped training. So IF there was to be a fight, I’d be ready on the spot.” But at this point, he is only focused on “see a fight with a talented Ukrainian. Go Usyk! Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦❤️,” while referring to Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch.

It looks like Klitschko won’t fight Oleksandr Usyk for the title if he ever comes back. A few days ago, in a conversation with Sky, Klitschko chose Usyk as the favorite in the December 21 rematch and declared that “Oleksandr Usyk will keep me retired,” further making it concrete that the two compatriots won’t fight each other. Even His Excellency has denied Wladimir Klitschko and Oleksandr Usyk to face each other.

While HE Alalshikh wants ‘Dr Steelhammer’ to face Tyson Fury in a 2015 rematch, several reports have indicated that the 48-year-old was also seeking a fight with IBF champion Daniel Dubois. However, those talks never procured anything fruitful. But no matter in which scenario Klitschko wants to return, it looks like fans are directly opposed to the mere idea.

Fans’ desperate plea to the former champ

A Subreddit reposted the Klitschko tweet, where the fans had a deep discussion regarding Ukranian’s return. A fan wrote, “Really hope he stays away, reports say he would only be coming back to fight Dubois and beat Foreman’s record. But there is no possibility of him continuing his career after that – win or lose – and fighting Fury or Usyk,” claiming that Klitschko should remain retired.  He further added, “He wasn’t the fighter he once was when he fought Joshua, he won’t have gotten any better. He’d be taking an enormous risk for very little reward, even if he wins, he may hold the record but Foreman’s achievement was an effort years in the making – not something done on a whim,” while referring to the 48-year-old’s declining ability in the ring in his latter years.

According to the fans, the Zhangiztobe native looked like a shell of his prime during his last two bouts against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. So, there is no way that he would have improved while being out of the action for 7 years.

Another fan had a similar idea and wrote, “The worst thing about Big George regaining the title was that it convinced every other 40 or 50 year old ex-champ that they could come back and do the same.” The fan claimed that George Foreman becoming a world champion at the age of 45 has allowed many boxers to hope for the same. Foreman’s first retirement came when he was just around 27 years old. He returned 10 years later, but due to his less exposure earlier, was not as damaged as a normal 37-year-old boxer. However, that is not the case with Klitschko and the damage he has taken over his long career could be worsened if he ever returns. 

While many fans criticized the decision, a few of them were also supportive of it. A fan wrote, “Wlad says he has continued to train since retirement. I don’t doubt that. So if he goes for it, it wouldn’t really be on a whim.” The user believes that ‘Dr Steelhammer’ has thought about his return and it won’t be a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Another user with a similar reaction wrote, “I completely agree with you. All the way through. Then again – if Wlad believe’s he can, i wont argue against it. Wlad’s intelligent as f**k, had a style that didn’t give him a lot of damage. If he thinks he can do it – who the f**k are we to argue against it?” claiming that the retired boxer knows his body better than anyone. And if he thinks he can handle it, no one should argue.

Another fan wrote, “I think he has a chance to beat Foremans record if the WBA belt gets vacated anytime soon and he gets to rematch Pulev(who holds WBA regular title) for the vacant WBA super title,” as he laid down a roadmap for Wladimir Klitschko to beat Big George Foreman’s record.

While both HE Alalshikh and Wladimir Klitschko are eyeing this return, it looks like Oleksandr Usyk can stop those plans. If Usyk successfully defeats Fury tonight, as Klitschko stated, he will stay retired. Every boxing fan would prefer that. Let us know your thoughts down below.