Vitali Klitschko seems determined to make up for every lost day in his boxing career.
After spending nearly four years on the shelf with injuries, Klitschko will step into the ring Saturday for the sixth time in just two years when the WBC heavyweight champion meets Shannon Briggs in Hamburg, Germany.
The 39-year-old Ukrainian says he feels stronger and sharper than ever before, his innate punching power honed and focused through decades of disciplined gym work. Few observers give the dreadlocked journeyman Briggs any chance against a fighter who still has never been knocked down.
Klitschko and his brother, two-belt heavyweight champion Wladimir, have beaten their division into submission for years. Yet they still fight on, and Vitali has no intention of retiring.
Everybody knows the brothers will never fight each other. Yet if the Klitschkos ever did get into a ring in some alternate universe, Vitali Klitschko knows how it would go.
''I think that Wladimir is more talented than I, and he has tremendous punching power,'' Vitali said with a laugh. ''He's younger. He's the one. He's better than me.''
And that's the single concession Vitali Klitschko will make to any other fighter, even at this advanced stage in an impressive career that shows no signs of stopping.
Klitschko's remarkable late-30s renaissance has only sharpened his desire to dominate the heavyweight division alongside his younger brother.
''Even to me, it's pretty amazing,'' Klitschko told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Germany. ''I feel great. I feel like I'm in my 20s. I did have a lot of injuries, yes, but I feel great now. I think the path that I had did good things to my body, and also my mind. I came back very motivated.''
It showed in his last six fights, all comfortable victories. Vitali and Wladimir, the IBF and WBO champion, have beaten their division into a motley crew of pretenders - and somewhere behind them is WBA champion David Haye, widely perceived to be running scared from both Klitschkos so he can hang on to his belt.
Briggs has talked an impressive game, claiming he'll knock out Klitschko in the first round, but the genial part-time actor might just be playing a role. Briggs also prominently mentions his asthma as a disadvantage, which Klitschko interprets as a built-in excuse for getting knocked out.
But while the rest of the world laments the lack of topflight heavyweights to challenge the champions, Vitali Klitschko passionately argues a counterpoint. Though it's partly his job when promoting fights such as the apparent mismatch at Hamburg's O2 World Arena, Klitschko seems sincere when he claims Briggs or any other opponent has more than a puncher's chance against him.
''My little brother and I, we're just in our generation,'' Klitschko said. ''We're doing the best job we can do. There were champions like Mike Tyson who fought everybody, and not everybody was just as good.
''People think our opponents are weak, not strong enough, not motivated enough. This is nonsense. They are trying. If it doesn't go well, this isn't the first time. We're going to keep in good shape, and we're going to clean up the ring, no matter who is in front of us.''
Retirement speculation has circled around Klitschko, who has plenty of interests outside the ring. Besides his wife and three children, who move among their homes in Kiev, Hamburg and Los Angeles, he leads a political party in Ukraine, fulfilling his desire to create governmental change.
Even his Wikipedia page claims he's retiring at the end of this year, but Klitschko certainly doesn't sound ready to relax.
''I enjoy the process for right now, a lot,'' Klitschko said. ''I understand that I'm not 20 anymore, but I feel great, like in my 20s. I don't know what it is, but in our generation, people last longer. Look at (Evander) Holyfield. He's pushing 50. Bernard Hopkins in his 40s. Antonio Tarver is up there. We have a lot of us. When I look at the shape of these guys, it's pretty good. Age doesn't actually matter a lot.''
Although the brothers fight primarily in Germany, where their bouts draw huge crowds and hefty television ratings from their most devoted fan base, the Klitschkos also are determined to maintain a high U.S. profile. Vitali's fight with Briggs can be viewed live online in the United States.
What's more, one of the Klitschko brothers plans to fight in America next year, according to Vitali, whose victory over Chris Arreola in Los Angeles last October drew a solid crowd. The brothers just haven't figured out the details, but they've got plenty of time to plot the next chapter of their heavyweight domination.
''I don't know what it is, but with time and age, I still feel good,'' Klitschko said. ''I don't have an answer when is the time (to retire). I don't think it is.''
