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
Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko against Kirk Johnson in which only Lewis' IBO title would be on the line. Klitschko was to fight on the undercard and take on Lewis in December. Before the Lewis–Johnson fight could take place, Johnson was forced to pull out with a chest injury. As such, Lewis and Klitschko agreed to face one another on June 21, rather than later in the year as originally planned. Though Klitschko came into the fight as the underdog, he was able to get off to a great start in the fight. Klitschko was the aggressor through the first two rounds and landed many