By Edward Chaykovsky
Former two division world champion Ricky Hatton, who now trains and promotes his own stable of fighters, believes Anthony Joshua is catching Wladimir Klitschko at the right time.
Joshua faces Klitschko on April 29th, before a record crowd of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The IBF, WBA, IBO heavyweight titles will be at stake.
Joshua, an Olympic gold medal winner, has knocked out all 18 of his opponents. Only two, Dominic Breazeale and Dillian Whyte, were able to last seven rounds.
Klitschko, who ruled the heavyweight division for over ten years, is now 41 years old and coming back from a long period of inactivity. He's been out of the ring since losing his first bout in ten years, a twelve round decision being dropped to Tyson Fury in November 2015.
Hatton, who at one time was one of the biggest names in the sport, is very familiar with the harsh reality of the boxing - when your body begins to decline and the younger talent begins to take over.
"I think it’s the right time [for Joshua]. Klitschko seems to have been around forever and none of us go on forever. He got beat by Tyson Fury well. Tyson boxed absolutely fantastic against him, but that might not work in Anthony’s favor to be honest with you," Hatton told Hatton TV.
"Klitschko will be coming to the ring first as a challenger for a change, and that will have hurt him losing to Tyson Fury - so he’ll want to come back more determined than ever - but I just can’t help but feel none of us can go on forever. It might just be the right time for Anthony.... his confidence is up, he’s on a winning streak, he’s on top of the world. Like I said earlier, it’s all about timing. I think this might be the right time for Anthony."
