by Luke Furman
In July and September, Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) and Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39 KOs) will defend their respective titles. Wladimir faces WBA champion David Haye on July 2, and Vitali takes on Tomasz Adamek on September 10. Both brothers were eager to stage those fights in Ukraine, but ultimately chose other options. Wladimir faces Haye in Germany, and Vitali takes on Adamek in Poland.
"We did everything possible to stage the fight with David in Ukraine. Unfortunately, he refused. We offered him a lot of money, but it seems to me that he was afraid to go to Ukraine," Wladimir said.
"We thought about it [fighting him in Ukraine]. But what the Poles offered, it was very profitable for me. Of course, we deciding on Poland. I have to reckon with the fact that Tomasz Adamek will get great support from his fans. But when you enter the ring, [the support] does not matter," Vitali said.
Luke Furman covers the boxing scene for bokser.org