Vitali Klitschko: A titlist cut short

It has been nearly a year since we last witnessed WBC heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko entering a boxing ring to wage fistic combat and now of course we learn that we may never see him in the ring again. His opponent in his last match was Danny Williams, who was coming off a stoppage of the now-defunct franchise named Mike Tyson. Unbeknownst to all those present that night in Las Vegas, it was also the last hurrah for boxing’s first Ukrainian heavyweight titlist. His truncated title reign has some quirks that are unlikely to be replicated. Oddly – if we eliminate the thought that his WBO days were real title fights – he did not fight for or defend his title against an American.