Wladimir Klitschko almost called out Tyson Fury for rematch earlier this year and says he wants to come out of retirement to break George Foreman’s record as oldest heavyweight world champion

Wladimir Klitschko said was very tempted to call out Tyson Fury for a 'last dance' following his win over Dillian Whyte back in April, and still 'dreams' of making a record-breaking return to boxing.

The WBC heavyweight world champion defended his title with a devastating KO at Wembley Stadium earlier this year and caught the attention of the man he first dethroned back in 2015.

4

Fury beat long-reigning champion Klitschko when he initially won the WBA, IBF and WBO titles seven years ago and the pair were set for a contracted rematch.

However, the Gypsy King's life spiralled out of control due to mental health issues and substance abuse, resulting in him spending two-and-a-half years out of the ring and losing all his belts.

Klitschko instead ended up facing Anthony Joshua and being stopped as he attempted to regain the throne.

He retired following that fight, and said that the only way he’d ever likely be tempted back to boxing would be if the opportunity arose to break George Foreman’s record as the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

In 2022 though, the war in Ukraine has of course been Klitschko's priority.

Asked about a possible future boxing return, Klitschko told back in May: “That's where my passion is.

4

Most read in Boxing

Conor Benn buys expensive gift with huge Chris Eubank Jr fight purse

Boxing schedule 2025: Results and dates including Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2

Brutal ringside footage shows Naoya Inoue getting dropped with vicious left hand

Anthony Joshua considering huge investment in EFL club as boxer reveals new details

"And honestly, I was thinking I should just take Tyson Fury and tweet, ‘Last dance?’

"Since he wants to retire and we were supposed to have this rematch, I was thinking about it.

"I didn't do it because my mind was in a totally different world.

"But I was really thinking I should send this, I should tweet this, 'Last dance?'"

4

Foreman was 45 years and 299 days old when he beat Michael Moorer to win the WBA and IBF belts in 1994. This win also made him the ‘lineal’ champion.

His last successful defence of the IBF belt came at age 46 years and 102 days, while he finally lost the ‘lineal’ crown to Shannon Briggs at age 48 years and 316 days.

Klitschko is now 46 years and 251 days old, so he is old enough to break the record for oldest title win and oldest sanctioning body heavyweight champion ever.

But he is still a couple of years away from matching Foreman's final defence of the 'lineal' crown.

4

"That was all a dream before the war," Klitschko said.

“I had a dream to become the oldest heavyweight champion of the world.

"And not to break the jaw in the ring, but to break the record.

"Break the record to become the oldest heavyweight champion after George Foreman.

"So I was 45, now I'm 46 and that's exactly the time, that was the plan.

"But we were talking about something that was happening before and now there's a big question mark - what is gonna go on with the war?

"There's a lot of question marks, we don't know what is gonna happen tomorrow. So that's why it's step by step."