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13 April 2004
LOS ANGELES – Wladimir Klitschko was on Tuesday waiting for the full results of blood tests following his knockout by American Lamon Brewster in a world title bout last weekend.
Members of Klitschko’s Germany-based Universum camp insisted that the Ukrainian had taken no forbidden substances while his brother Vitali spoke of abnormal circumstances he did not want to specify.
It was Vitali Klitschko who on Monday had confirmed that Wladimir’s blood sugar level had been four times higher than normally.
“There can be many reasons for this. I don’t want to draw any foregone conclusions. We have to analyse every detail before we make any statements,” said Wladimir Klitschko.
On Saturday, the 9-1 favourite Klitschko was knocked out in the fifth round of the World Boxing Organization title fight in Las Vegas by the little-known Brewster.
Klitschko said later that he felt a lack of energy and fitness from the second round on, which he couldn’t explain because he had trained hard for the fight.
Defeat was a huge blow for the 1996 Olympic champion, who had already been beaten last year by South African Corrie Sanders.
Experts suggested that Klitschko should retire, but he insisted that he did not want to quit with a defeat.
The defeat also ended the dream of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko being world champions at the same time.
However, Vitali is still determined to win the World Boxing Council title on 24 April in Los Angeles against Sanders and is training hard for it.
“Wladimir’s knockout and the following circumstances are bitter and strange, but we have no time right now to think about that. Our only aim is to have Vitali ready for the fight in champion form,” said Vitali’s coach Fritz Sdunek.
Sdunek was formerly also Wladimir’s coach until the boxer decided to hire the ex-trainer of retired heavyweight Lennox Lewis, Emanuel Stewart, for the fight against Brewster.
Stewart said he would stick with Wladimir and was among those who agreed that he should not retire.
“Wladimir’s real wish is to get a rematch. Brewster was no difficult opponent for him,” said Stewart.
DPA
Subject: German news