Vitali Klitschko Cuts Adamek Training Camp Short

According to numerous Russian reports, WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko (42-2-0) decided to put a halt to his ongoing training camp in preparation for his bout with Tomasz Adamek on September 10, 2011, in order to fly back to Ukraine from Austria.

The reason for Vitali’s spontaneous move was the arrest of the former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko. Vitali released the following statement in his blog on Pravda.com.ua: “After finding out what was happening in Ukraine, I stopped my training camp and returned to Kiev. I did this because I understand that the real fight for democracy is right here in Ukraine, and I simply cannot be sitting on the sidelines and watching.”

While most can appreciate and respect Vitali for his political dedication to his homeland, one has to wonder about his commitment to boxing. The threat that Tomasz poses to Vitali is irrelevant to the fact that training camp interruptions are never a good idea. In some ways, this may even look disrespectful towards camp Adamek, showing that Vitali does not perceive them as serious opposition.

We still don’t know how much time Vitali will take in Ukraine, and whether he plans on resuming his training camp at all. Will this choice make any difference in Vitali’s performance come fight night? Personally, I highly doubt it. I think that Vitali is a fairly polished fighter who keeps healthy year round. The Klitschko brothers are a classy example, and even if Vitali loses his fight against Adamek, I believe he would never bring up this interruption as an excuse.

After all is said and done, the fight is not all that far off. We will know sooner rather than later whether Vitali really is a dominant champion.