The 41-year-old Ukrainian is determined to bring back former glories after losing his titles to Tyson Fury in November 2015
Browsing: Wladimir Klitschko
Later this month Joshua and Klitschko will compete for the WBA title that was vacated by Fury after he repeatedly pulled out of a rematch with Klitschko, with the bout set to take place in front of a post-war record crowd of 90,000 at Wembley
The 41-year-old is aiming to become a three-time world champion against IBF champion Joshua in what will be his 69th professional bout
The 41-year-old is attempting to become the first man ever to beat Joshua as he attempts to regain the IBF and WTA world titles that he lost when he was outpointed by Tyson Fury in November 2015
Joshua faces Klitschko on April 29 at Wembley Stadium in an event that could earn the 2012 Olympic gold medallist an eight-figure sum through purse, Sky Box Office revenue and endorsements
Klitschko comes into the fight on the back of a 17-month layoff after seeing two rematches with Tyson Fury fall through since their first clash in November 2015
In one of the very rare occasions in his long career, Klitschko is viewed by most as the underdog
While the 90,000 tickets for the 29 April fight sold out weeks ago, some are being offered on resale sites, including Viagogo and StubHub
And it seems the Brit is hitting the peak of physical condition in preparation to face the Ukrainian
On Monday night, Fury announced on social media that he intended to compete on May 13 – the first time since winning the WBA, IBF and WBO titles against Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 – but it appears that his intentions have been met by a number of stumbling blocks
The 27-year-old’s IBF heavyweight title will be on the line, as well as the vacant IBO and WBA Super crowns, when the two men lock horns at Wembley Stadium on April 29 in front of a record crowd
The bout will see two former Olympic champions go head to head, and Joshua described it as another “gold medal fight” for him
Fury has not fought since beating Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF, WBA and WBO titles in November 2015, pulling out of a rematch a year later for medical reasons before relinquishing his titles in October
The Ukrainian has 53 stoppage wins in his 68 fights, including five in his last eight, a statistic which he claims proves that, despite being 41 when the Joshua clash takes place at Wembley, he is getting better with age
Fury saw two rematches against the Ukrainian fall through this year before deciding to take time out from boxing due to depression
Joshua, 27, has recently begun working full-time again with McCracken, who trained him as an amateur, helping him win Olympic gold at London 2012
The pair have long been tipped to face each other during Joshua’s rise up through the heavyweight ranks, and Hearn made the announcement after the Brit’s third-round stoppage of Eric Molina at Manchester Arena
The pair had initially hoped to meet on December 10, but a delay in the governing body making a decision on the fight and a minor injury to Klitschko meant that plans were scrapped until next year
Two attempts to stage a rematch collapsed because the Briton suffered an ankle injury and was then declared “medically unfit”. Fury has since vacated his WBO and WBA titles.
The pair were due to continue their bitter rivalry in Manchester on October 29 for a fight that had already been called off once due to an injury to Fury