Klitschko, Thompson heats up

By Karl Freitag - fightnews.com - WBA News

WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko says Tony “The Tiger” Thompson should stop talking about an injury he claims hampered him in their first fight and show some respect. “He got knocked out, that’s it,” said Wlad on a conference call Thursday to promote their world title clash on July 7 at the Stade de Suisse in Bern, Switzerland, to be televised live in 160 countries worldwide including the U.S.

 “In boxing it’s always tough,” stated Wlad. “You break your hand, you tear your muscles or tendons, which can happen in a fight and I have experienced it in my life multiple times, but nobody’s interested in that. Everyone is interested in the end result. Nobody is interested in what was in-between.”

“I really was on one leg,” insisted Thompson earlier on the call. “I had a torn meniscus in my knee and unfortunately I wasn’t able to train to my full abilities and prepare for the heavyweight championship of the world. This time we were able to prepare and with a healthy body we actually have a legitimate shot.”

Thompson guaranteed he would fight Klitschko and not lay back and get outjabbed. “This is gonna be a fight,” he vowed. “I’m going to be the one to press the fight. I’m going to be the one throwing a lot of punches. I’m gonna be the one landing most of the punches.”

Wladimir commented that he would rather face a fighter he hasn’t already fought, “…but I have no choice. I have to defend my titles and to fight Tony Thompson is definitely not an easy job.”

Wlad also made a comparison of Thompson’s talk of a knee injury to David Haye’s talk of a toe injury. “My suggestion to Tony Thompson: Suck it up. Bite your lip, and just move forward. If your performance was bad, just get another chance. Give respect to the champion. There’s a reason the champion has been there for many years. It’s not an accident,” stated Klitschko.

Source:  wbanews.com/artman/publish/news/Klitschko_Thompson_heats_up.shtml