Wladimir Klitschko says he has rediscovered his "obsession" with boxing as he prepares for Anthony Joshua back at his teenage gym near Kiev. Klitschko takes on Joshua on April 29, 17 months after Tyson Fury's stunning win stripped the heavyweight king of his three world titles.
A contracted rematch with Fury fell through, leaving the Ukrainian to tackle another British giant for the IBF and WBA 'super' belts at next month. And Klitschko, who will be 41 by the time he steps through the ropes at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, is plotting his redemption at the same gym where he began training as a 15-year-old and later prepared for his gold medal run at the 1996 Olympic Games.
Klitschko said: "I honestly asked myself 'do I really like what I do?' and I said 'no Wlad, I actually love what I do'. This is one of the biggest challenges I've had in my life - coming back after an 18-month break and fighting a young champion, really talented, athletic and all of this. I'm the underdog in this fight and this is actually exciting for me. I haven't been in this situation for such a long time. I feel young and challenged. I'm the official challenger. Great! I want to leave the ring as the champion and the winner of this fight - that's my obsession. I'm obsessed about it. Then afterwards we can count things like being three-time world champion, the belts on the line, such a big stadium, such a great opponent, one of the rising stars..."
"I'm turning my face to a challenge. Many people think I'm crazy - I'm going to be 41 and I'm fighting a guy much younger, so strong, scary, knocks everybody out. I'm showing my face to the challenge - I love it. I'm obsessed with what I'm doing."
Klitschko was unable to see Tony Bellew's shock win over his old foe David Haye - "It sounds like I missed a lot!" he said - and the former champion is not looking past Joshua. There is nothing beyond that," he said. "It's not my business right now. My business is just to get ready."
