Thursday, 3 December 2015

Boxing:Wladimir Klitschko to take rematch with Tyson Fury


Wladimir Klitschko has confirmed he will take the rematch with Tyson Fury, expected to be in spring next year.

The Ukrainian suffered his first defeat in 11 years when his nine-and-a-half year reign as world heavyweight champion was ended by a unanimous points defeat to Briton Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldforf, Germany, on Saturday.

Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs), 39, was assured of a rematch due to a clause in the contract for the fight against Fury, whose camp hope a rematch can be made at Wembley Stadium or Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.

"I was really frustrated directly after the fight but after some short nights I now know that I want to show that I am much better than my performance on Saturday," Klitschko said.

"I couldn't show my full potential at any time. This is what I want to change in the rematch -- and I will. Failure is not an option."

Peter Fury, the champion's trainer and uncle, welcomed Klitschko's declaration.

"I think it's fantastic news. We're absolutely ecstatic," Peter Fury said on Sky Sports News. "These are the two best heavyweights in the world, bar none, and it's nice to see them clashing again.

"We weren't expecting an answer before January. To know now the fight's going to be on, we're really excited and very happy."

Klitschko believes he drastically under-performed in Dusseldorf and has plenty of scope for improving his performance second time around.

But Peter Fury said: "Tyson had a lot more to give as well. I think it's going to be great for both guys, because I said after the fight that Tyson only performed only about 60-65 percent of his potential.

"I'm looking forward to getting the fight on and letting Tyson do 100 percent of what we know we can do. I see the outcome being no different."

Identifying a venue will be one of the key steps in putting the fight on, and Peter Fury said: "We're looking at possibly getting it at Wembley Stadium next year."

Bernd Boente, Klitschko's manager, said: "There will be a huge worldwide interest in this fight, which already can be billed as the fight of the year 2016.

"We received so many questions of fans and journalists after last Saturday. The new champion and his challenger will answer all of them inside the ring."

Tyson Fury, 27, has also said he is willing to face Klitschko again in Germany and a decision on the venue will be determined by where the fight can make the most money.

Fury captured Klitschko's WBA, IBF and WBO world titles with the upset win and has vowed to knock out the former champion in the rematch.

It is the fight Fury and his camp wanted for a first defence, but the IBF world governing body has called a purse bid on December 11 for Fury to defend the IBF belt against Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov.

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