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HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- Former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko gave up his bid to fight for his old title in June, allowing No. 1 challenger Samuel Peter to take on Oleg Maskaev.
Bernd Broente, Klitschko's manager, said Thursday the Ukrainian is guaranteed to fight the Maskaev-Peter winner later this year.
The decision ends months of wrangling between Klitschko and Peter. The Nigerian refused $2.5 million to step aside and let the Ukrainian sign for a lucrative title bout in Moscow.
"A lot of reasons came together in this decision," Broente said.
Among them is that Klitschko's trainer, Fritz Smudek, is seriously ill.
Klitschko attempted to get into the title fight under a WBC clause that allowed the former champion, if he was forced to give up the belt without losing it in the ring, to get the next shot at the champion.
When Klitschko announced his comeback several months ago, Peter had twice beaten James Toney in elimination fights to earn his own chance at Maskaev.
The last fight for Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs) before back and knee problems forced the 36-year-old heavyweight to retire was an eighth-round win over Danny Williams on Dec. 11, 2004. He is also a former WBO champion.
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