Wladimir Klitschko Wants WBC Belt But Isn’t Desperate
By David P. Greisman
Wladimir Klitschko is the lineal heavyweight champion of the world. That is a designation. He also has plenty of property that comes with the territory, holding three of the four major world titles bestowed by sanctioning bodies.
The only one missing is the World Boxing Council belt, which had once belonged to his older brother, Vitali Klitschko, before Vitali retired. Bermane Stiverne went on to win the vacant belt, and then Deontay Wilder topped Stiverne earlier this year. Wilder’s mandatory challenger should he get by Johann Duhaupas on Sept. 26 is Alexander Povetkin.
Klitschko is interested in facing the winner of Wilder-Povetkin for the WBC title should that fight happen, though he also says he doesn’t need to have the title in his possession in order to be satisfied.
“I haven’t ever had the WBC belt. I’ve been asking the WBC for this fight, opportunity, for a long time, many years, but never got this opportunity through different circumstances,” Klitschko said on a Sept. 15 conference call ahead of his Oct. 24 bout against Tyson Fury in Dusseldorf, Germany.
“I’ve never had this title before. Am I desperate to have this title? Of course not. If you want to become the heavyweight champion, you need to go through me,” he said. “But on the other hand of course I am extremely excited about having another unification, the last and final unification that I can have in the heavyweight division.”