Munich - Vitali Klitschko is determined to join his brother Wladimir and become heavyweight boxing world champion when he comes out of retirement on Saturday for his first bout in more than three years. The Ukrainian Klitschko is set for a Munich bout against American Jameel McCline and is then eligible to box for the World Boxing Council title currently occupied by Russia's Oleg Maskaev.
"It will be a real battle. I rule out defeat," Klitschko, 35, told a news conference on Monday.
"I was world champion, I was at the top. But I want to be world champion at same time as my brother is and make history with it."
Wladimir Klitschko is the current heavyweight world champion of the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Vitali's last bout dates back to December 2004 when he defended his WBC world title against Briton Danny Williams. A string of injuries prevented him from further bouts and the gravest of them, a torn cruciate knee ligament, sent him into retirement in 2005.
Ever since, the WBC has listed him as "World Champion Emeritus" and is ready to grant him a title fight on returning to the ring.
The duel with McCline is the warmup for Klitschko, who has won 35 bouts and lost two, but by no means an easy one.
"It makes no sense to compete against a weak opponent," he said.
McCline, 37, has won 38 of his 49 fights. His defeats include a world title fight against Wladimir Klitschko and he also paid respect to Vladimir on Monday.
"He is a very impressive fighter. I consider him a great champion," said McCline.
Klitschko did not want to set a time frame for a his comeback into the ring, saying "every fight could be the last one."
But he also vowed that he had a lot of energy left in his body.
