Wladimir Klitschko In Hospital

Wladimir Klitschko was recently hospitalized in Duesseldorf due to complaints of abdominal pains.  As of now the fight with Jean Marc Mormeck is still on for December 10th.  Wladimir’s manager Bernd Boente  believes Wladimir is showing signs of renal colic, which are kidney stones.

Boente said: "The fight isn't called off yet. Wladimir is doing well. There will be further examinations on Saturday, but we're assuming that the fight will be able to take place."

"Wladimir Klitschko had treatment for renal colic, but the fight is scheduled to go ahead," spokesman Klaus-Peter Dittrich told AFP on Saturday.

More information to come soon!

Will Wladimir Klitsckho vs David Haye Ever Happen?

It looked as though everything was set for a showdown between WBO/IBF/IBO/RING heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBA title holder David Haye for July 2nd of this year. But things fell through. Why?

Well back in December 2010 Wladimir Klitschko was staying busy with a fight with Derick Chisora scheduled for December 11th but ended up and had to pull out of his fight due to a abdominal injury he obtained on his last training session days before his fight. Wladimir Klitschko promised to fight Chisora at some point in the future, but David Haye's name was back in the picture and he and his team were going to see if a mega fight could happen with him 1st but promised Chisora a fight at some time in the future.

Ok so eventually Klitschko and Haye's sides agreed to the terms and the July 2nd date. Wladimir Klitschko hasn't fought since September 11th when he fought Samuel Peter. Keep in mind back in June 2009 Haye backed out of his fight with Wladimir at the last minute saying it was from a "injury" and had tied up Wladimir's year because he was planning on fighting earlier that year back around March but because of the way negotiations went, the fight scheduling didn't happen until June. So, Wladimir doesn't want a repeat of 2009, wants to keep his word to Chisora, and wants a fight just so he isn't rusty especially coming off an abdominal injury.

So what did Haye do? He backs out of the fight for July and blames Wladimir for the fight not happening saying that because Wladimir took a fight against Chisora in April he won't have enough time to prepare for him and promote the fight etc, so that's basically Wladimir opting out of the fight.

Whose business is it Haye's whether Wladimir wants to fight someone before him or not. It would be one thing if the Klitschko/Haye fight was scheduled for March or April but July is a long time. Wladimir hasn't fought since September, it would promote the fight since he's facing a top British fighter in Chisora, and he wouldn't take the fight unless he strongly believes he could make the fight with Haye.

So to make things clear. July 2nd is still available for Haye if he wants it, but it sounds like he is just making excuses to not fight Wladimir. He actually at one point said something about being done with the Klitschko's and he can retire knowing he did all he can to get a fight with them. He hadn't even had negotiations with Vitali when he said that. This guy is milking his belt for all its worth. I can't see how anyone can take this guy seriously.

Vitali Klitschko Calls Valuev A Chicken

Since the negotiations with former WBA champion Nicolai Valuev went bust, current WBC champion has called Valuev a chicken for not taking the fight for $2.5 million. Klitschko originally offered Valuev $1 million which is plenty in my opinion for an ex champion and would be more than Valuev would get anywhere else to $2 million to $2.5 million dollars. Still team Valuev with Don King was not satisfied and wanted to have $2.5 and a portion of TV broadcasting revenue. This is what Vitali had to say about the situation....

"Valuev is chicken. We gave him the biggest financial proposal of his career, $2.5 million, and he says 'no'. He understands that if he loses this fight, that's it for a long time in his career. Because it's the money for his pension – that's why he wanted $4 million. He's not a big champion."

Klitschko vs Valuev Falls Through

After a lengthy negotiation process Don King(one of the promoters) has rejected the final offer from team Klitschko of $2.5 million without television money. Team Valuev accepted the $2.5 million if they got extra money from television, but Klitschko's side was unwilling compromise further(Vitali initially offered $1 million dollars and escalated from there). So, the WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will look elsewhere for a fight in May, and Valuev will fight for next to nothing for no championship sometime later.

I have no idea why Don King did not accept this. Did he figure Vitali would back down while being champion and give even more to Valuev? Surely he doesn't think that Valuev will earn that much in his next 3 fights and Valuev is nearing the end of his career on top of that.

AAPRP Against Klitschko vs Chagaev!!!

The AAPRP(The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians) recommends that the heavyweight fight this Saturday, June 20th between current WBO/IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBA "champion in recess" Ruslan Chagaev not go because of Ruslan's hepatitis status and the medical safety issues involved with that kind of an infection. This is what they said:

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As it has been reported that Mr. Ruslan Chagaev has tested positive for the Hepatitis B Virus, the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians (the “AAPRP”) is recommending that the proposed contest between Mr. Ruslan Chagaev and Mr. Vladimir Klitschko be postponed due to medical safety issues. The AAPRP also recommends that this fight not take place and suggests that Mr. Chagaev not be permitted to fight (anyone) until, and unless, he can demonstrate a “negative hepatitis status.

In several recent media accounts, it has been stated that Mr. Chagaev has a “low hepatitis B viral load” and therefore poses “no risk” of transmitting this dangerous virus. The AAPRP disagrees with this assertion. Although the risk of transmission of the Hepatitis B Virus may be minimal, the risk is not zero. Additionally, given the fact that Hepatitis B is a very virulent virus and easily transmitted, it is even more important to be prudent in order to not only protect Mr. Chagaev’s opponent, but also the referee, judges, sanctioning body officials, cornermen, ringside physicians and ringside observers who may be at risk of contracting this dangerous virus. As boxing is obviously considered a “blood sport”, it is very common for blood to splatter on the individuals immediately adjacent at ringside. The conjunctiva (eye) route of transfer for this virus is well documented….so any person seated at ringside, who is not immunized, may be at risk.

Furthermore, statistics suggest that if Mr. Chagaev were to share needles with another individual, the transmission rate of Hepatitis B could be as high as 30%. If blood from a cut on Mr. Chagaev were to come into direct contact with a cut on another fighter, the transmission rate could be as high as 10%. Should blood squirt from Mr. Chagaev and hit another individual in the eye (i.e. Judge, referee, cornerman or media) the transmission rate could be as high as 5%. Therefore, the risk is obviously greater than zero and could put others at ringside (beside his opponent) at risk for acquiring this virus.

Unless everyone at ringside (Judges, referees, ringside physicians, commission members, sanctioning body officials, trainers, cornermen, media reporters, ring girls, television technicians, spectators and of course the fighters opponent) has documented immunity to Hepatitis B (a three shot hepatitis immunity vaccination series given over a 6 month period with a subsequent documented blood test confirming immunity), protection against exposure to this dangerous virus cannot be guaranteed. Finally, if bleeding does occur, the individuals responsible for cleaning the ring as well as those handling the gloves must also be immune to minimize the risk as well.

The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians considers safety our number one priority and will work with local and international commissions to insure that all precautions are taken to protect all individuals involved in professional boxing.


Come back to the blog for a response from Chagaev's team!

Tags: Other Boxing News, Other Heavyweight Boxing News, Potential Fight Cancellations, Wladimir Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko Opponents, Klitschko Blog