Vitali Klitschko a year to heal and possibly prove career ending. To avoid keeping the title out of use he retired. The WBC was grateful for his consideration. On other occasions he cited regrets about his suddenly mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine. Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return. On 3 August 2008 the WBC awarded Klitschko a chance to regain his WBC Heavyweight title. After
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings, billed as The Champion Returns, was a heavyweight fight for the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO, "The Ring" and lineal heavyweight titles. The fight took place on April 25, 2015 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This was the first time Klitschko had fought in the United States since 2008 and first time the lineal world heavyweight title was fought for in the United States since Lennox Lewis defeated Vitali Klitschko in 2003. His last fight in the United States was a title unification against Sultan Ibragimov. The