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Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, citing a nagging abdominal injury, canceled his title defense Saturday against England's Dereck Chisora for the second time, a move that eliminates a significant hurdle toward making an eventual showdown with titlist David Haye.
Klitschko was supposed to make his 10th title defense against Chisora on April 30 at SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. However, Klitschko pulled out, citing an abdominal injury from December that has not fully healed.
Klitschko, 34, originally was supposed to fight Chisora on Dec. 11, but withdrew four days before the fight after suffering the injury during his final workout hitting the pads with trainer Emanuel Steward.
Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs), underwent a CT scan and was diagnosed with a two-inch tear on the left side of his abdominal muscle near the bottom of his rib cage.
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The injury apparently still is not fully healed.
"Considering the current clinical picture, it is difficult to predict a precise time of rehabilitation," Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, Klitschko's doctor, said in a statement released by Klitschko's K2 Promotions. "The start of a training camp at this time for a fight in April would be too much of a high risk."
Said Klitschko: "I am very sorry about canceling the fight, especially for all fans in the already sold-out SAP arena in Mannheim. I have already fought there three times, [including in] 2006 [when] I became world champion in this arena. However, I am optimistic that soon we'll have an event in Mannheim."
Shelly Finkel, Klitschko's adviser, told ESPN.com that Klitschko recently began to train and the injury still was giving him a problem.
"I don't know if he was shadowboxing or what, but Wladimir said he felt something within the last week. He had it checked out," Finkel said.
After the fight with Chisora (14-0, 9 KOs) was called off in December, Klitschko and England's Haye, 30, renewed negotiations for their fight, which is by far the most significant fight that can be made in the heavyweight division.
Haye (25-1, 23 KOs) has trash-talked with Klitschko and his older brother, fellow titleholder Vitali Klitschko, for the past few years. He also has previously pulled out of fights with both brothers, further stoking public interest.
Wladimir Klitschko and Haye finally hammered out a deal earlier this year to fight July 2 in Germany. However, when Klitschko insisted on still facing Chisora on April 30, Haye objected and called off the fight.
Haye said nine weeks between fights for Klitschko was too short of a window to promote such a big fight. He also was concerned that Klitschko could either lose or get injured.
In recent weeks, the sides began negotiating the fight once again and have moved close to a deal in recent days, according to both sides.
Now that the fight with Chisora is off, it removes that stumbling block.
Although the timing of the cancellation of the Chisora fight looks convenient and enables Klitschko to make a deal with Haye, the Klitschko camp said the two are not related.
"Canceling the Chisora fight was no condition of any deal," Finkel said.
Said Bernd Boente, Klitschko's manager: "All this has absolutely nothing to do with a possible Haye fight. [The Haye fight is] getting close, but why should our position except the injury be different now than in January?"
Chisora and promoter Frank Warren declined to comment.
Klitschko was supposed to make his 10th title defense against Chisora on April 30 at SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. However, Klitschko pulled out, citing an abdominal injury from December that has not fully healed.
Klitschko, 34, originally was supposed to fight Chisora on Dec. 11, but withdrew four days before the fight after suffering the injury during his final workout hitting the pads with trainer Emanuel Steward.
Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs), underwent a CT scan and was diagnosed with a two-inch tear on the left side of his abdominal muscle near the bottom of his rib cage.
Rafael's Boxing Blog
Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.
The injury apparently still is not fully healed.
"Considering the current clinical picture, it is difficult to predict a precise time of rehabilitation," Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, Klitschko's doctor, said in a statement released by Klitschko's K2 Promotions. "The start of a training camp at this time for a fight in April would be too much of a high risk."
Said Klitschko: "I am very sorry about canceling the fight, especially for all fans in the already sold-out SAP arena in Mannheim. I have already fought there three times, [including in] 2006 [when] I became world champion in this arena. However, I am optimistic that soon we'll have an event in Mannheim."
Shelly Finkel, Klitschko's adviser, told ESPN.com that Klitschko recently began to train and the injury still was giving him a problem.
"I don't know if he was shadowboxing or what, but Wladimir said he felt something within the last week. He had it checked out," Finkel said.
After the fight with Chisora (14-0, 9 KOs) was called off in December, Klitschko and England's Haye, 30, renewed negotiations for their fight, which is by far the most significant fight that can be made in the heavyweight division.
Haye (25-1, 23 KOs) has trash-talked with Klitschko and his older brother, fellow titleholder Vitali Klitschko, for the past few years. He also has previously pulled out of fights with both brothers, further stoking public interest.
Wladimir Klitschko and Haye finally hammered out a deal earlier this year to fight July 2 in Germany. However, when Klitschko insisted on still facing Chisora on April 30, Haye objected and called off the fight.
Haye said nine weeks between fights for Klitschko was too short of a window to promote such a big fight. He also was concerned that Klitschko could either lose or get injured.
In recent weeks, the sides began negotiating the fight once again and have moved close to a deal in recent days, according to both sides.
Now that the fight with Chisora is off, it removes that stumbling block.
Although the timing of the cancellation of the Chisora fight looks convenient and enables Klitschko to make a deal with Haye, the Klitschko camp said the two are not related.
"Canceling the Chisora fight was no condition of any deal," Finkel said.
Said Bernd Boente, Klitschko's manager: "All this has absolutely nothing to do with a possible Haye fight. [The Haye fight is] getting close, but why should our position except the injury be different now than in January?"
Chisora and promoter Frank Warren declined to comment.
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