Vitali Klitschko has apologized for remarks widely understood to be an announcement he was retiring.
The 41-year-old WBC and former WBO champion announced to a news conference that "I don't intend to fight," earlier Monday.
"To boxing-lovers everywhere I can say that the Ukrainian flag will be raised and the anthem will be played when Klitschko enters the ring," he said. "But if you mean me, then I don't intend to fight," he added, referring to his younger brother Wladimir, holder of the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.
But later on his Facebook page, Klitschko acknowledged he had misspoken.
"There is no talk about the end of my career," he said. "I'm sorry if I didn't put enough emphasis on this at the news conference."
After the initial announcement, his spokeswoman Oksana Zinovieva moved quickly refute it, insisting Klitschko had actually said he didn't intend to box "into old age."
"That's what he always says," she said.
It remained unclear if Klitschko would fight again or whether his camp was saving the retirement announcement for a bigger occasion.
Klitschko had previously hinted that his September 8 defeat of Manuel Charr could be his last pro fight before focusing on his fledgling career in politics.
Nicknamed Dr. Ironfist, Klitschko has a record of 45 victories with 41 knockouts along with two defeats.
