Vitali Klitschko was announced champion emeritus, which means that if he wants to return to boxing, he can fight the WBC Heavyweight Champion without having any fights beforehand. But (right after his retirement from boxing), Klitschko stated "That is something I currently cannot imagine". The WBC title was vacated and later contested by Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne. Commenting on his decision, he stated "My focus is on politics in Ukraine and I feel the people there need me". He also added, "I thank the WBC and its president Jose Sulaiman for the support in our battle for democracy and freedom in
Wladimir Klitschko out of the fight due to not being fully recovered from a torn abdominal muscle. On 5 March, it was instead announced that the highly anticipated fight against David Haye would take place on 2 July 2011. The fight was contingent on Klitschko's recovery from a torn abdominal muscle injury. The contract was written so that if Klitschko was not fully healed, then Haye would fight his brother, Vitali. Klitschko fought David Haye in a heavyweight unification fight for the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO and "The Ring" Heavyweight titles. The fight took place at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg, Germany