Wladimir Klitschko retires

Former Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has retired from boxing and thus turning down a lucrative rematch with Anthony Joshua, According to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I deliberately took a few weeks to make my decision, to make sure I had enough distance from the fight at Wembley Stadium,” Klitschko said. “As an amateur and a professional boxer, I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports. I would have never imagined that I would have such a long and incredibly successful boxing career. I’m very thankful for this. Thanks to everyone who has always supported me especially my family, my team and my many fans.”

“Especially after this terrific fight at Wembley Stadium it was a very tough decision for Wladimir to make,” longtime Klitschko manager Bernd Boente said. “But he has always emphasized that he wanted to retire if he didn’t have enough motivation anymore. Therefore this is definitively the right decision. Wladimir accomplished everything in his unique boxing career. He dominated the heavyweight division for over a decade. He fought in sold-out arenas and stadiums worldwide and millions of fans around the world watched his fights on TV. It has been a privilege for me to accompany Wladimir on this unique journey.”

“Wladimir Klitschko earned his right into the Hall of Fame years ago,” said Peter Nelson, executive vice president of HBO Sports, Klitschko’s longtime American broadcast partner. “His accomplishments in the ring will be immortalized in the record books. Outside the ring, Wladimir is well respected as a true ambassador to boxing and role model in sport, contributing vastly philanthropically as a leader of community activism and with a profound commitment to improving the lives of children worldwide. We are proud Wladimir and his team have been in the HBO Sports family for the majority of his 21-year career. We are excited for him and his family as he begins his next chapter.”

“Because of this choice, I’ve travelled the world, learned new languages, created businesses, built intellectual properties, helped people in need, became a scientist, entrepreneur, motivator, hotelier, trainer, investor and much else. I was and am still capable of doing all this because of the global appeal of the sport of boxing.

“At some point in our lives we need to, or just want to, switch our careers and get ourselves ready for the next chapter and chart are new course toward fresh challenges. Obviously, I’m not an exception to this and now is my turn. I’m honestly doing this with the greatest respect for the new challenges, but also with tremendous excitement, passion, dedication expecting and hoping that my next career, which I’ve already been planning and working on for some years, will be at least as successful as my previous one. “Finally, instead of just saying thanks and goodbye, I want you to continue to enjoy me in this new and exciting journey. When we’re together we’re more creative, more efficient, more productive and simply stronger in every way. Together we’re the driving force.”