PRESS RELEASE: World Boxing Council Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko’s next fight will be against the winner of the Aug. 13 Hasim Rahman-Monte Barrett “interim” WBC heavyweight title bout. A letter from the WBC dated July 14 and sent to Klitschko, the management teams of Rahman and Barrett and Don King Productions, said that Klitschko, as WBC champion, will get 65 percent of the purse. The “interim” champion, whether it is Rahman or Barrett, will get 35 percent. The match will take place later this year.

 

“I am proud to be the WBC heavyweight champion and I want to thank the WBC and its president, Jose Sulaiman, for finding a fair solution to our situation,” said Klitschko, who had strongly considered making a voluntary title defense in September. “There has been a lot of criticism against me lately but now that I am healthy and able to fight, and know when my next fight will be, I am keen to go forward and show the critics and especially my fans who the real heavyweight champion of the world is.

 

“Whoever I fight next, I will be ready. I will not be rooting for either Rahman or Barrett, but Rahman has been talking so much and saying so many bad things about me, I think I would love to personally shut him up once and for all.’’