By Luke Furman
WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KOs), 40-years-old, is splitting his time between boxing and politics. It is no secret that Vitali is reaching the end of his boxing career, and plans to devote himself fully to his political party UDAR. Vitali will defend his WBC crown on February 18 in Munich skirmish against Dereck Chisora (15-2, 9 KOs). The next possible opponent could be WBA world champion David Haye (25-2, 23 KOs), who in July of 2011 was defeated by Vitali's 35-year-old brother Wladimir.
"Boxers on my level usually compete twice a year. Fighting three fights [a year] is already hard enough. My workouts look so good that my coach Fritz Sdunek said 'you can box into your sixties.' An athlete's career is not eternal. I don't think it will end anytime soon. When will it end exactly? I'll say this: I can leave boxing at any time," Vitali said.
"Politics consume a lot of my time, but training doesn't bother me, it's just the opposite. About seven in the morning I start training, two hours later I eat breakfast. At about ten o'clock I am already in the office. In the evening, I plan my second workout. For sport, I put aside three hours a day and I feel great. The remaining time is for politics."
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.