by David P. Greisman

It’s been a long time since Wladimir Klitschko was in this position.

For nearly a year now, and for the first time in a decade, Klitschko is without a world title.

For the first time in a long time, he is fighting for his career.

That’s what Klitschko has faced since his surprisingly listless loss to Tyson Fury last November in Germany. He was supposed to fight Fury again this fall, either regaining the heavyweight championship or realizing that he no longer belonged toward the top of the division.

He’ll still be heading to the United Kingdom to face a tall, undefeated British heavyweight for at least one world title. It’ll just be a different one.

Fury is out due to his struggles with mental illness and positive tests for cocaine use. Klitschko won’t be fighting in Manchester on Oct. 29. But Anthony Joshua had a date in that city for Nov. 26. He didn’t yet have an opponent. It’s not yet official, but it looks certain that the two of them will meet on Dec. 10.

It’s the best possible Plan B for each. Klitschko ends up with another notable heavyweight, which he needed. Joshua ends up with an even more notable opponent than he otherwise would’ve faced. He didn’t need that yet, but it’s an opportunity that he wisely didn’t pass up.

Joshua, a 2012 gold medalist, challenged for a world title without ever before having faced one of the Top 10 heavyweights in the world. And you’d have to be charitable even to describe the man Joshua challenged as belonging in the Top 10.

But Charles Martin had a belt by virtue of two fortunate breaks. And Joshua was quite ready to take it from him.

There are four world titles, one bestowed by each of the major sanctioning bodies. Klitschko held three of them, and then Fury did, and then Fury was left with just two. That’s because one of those sanctioning bodies had ordered the winner of Klitschko-Fury to face Vyacheslav Glazkov next. Had Klitschko won, that likely wouldn’t have been a problem. But Fury won. He’d willingly accepted a rematch clause when signing to face Klitschko. He was contractually obligated to a rematch. He couldn’t face Glazkov.

So Glazkov fought Martin in January. Glazkov’s knee went out during the fight. Martin won with a fluke third-round technical knockout.

His title reign lasted less than three months. His first defense lasted less than five minutes.

Joshua had an easy night putting Martin away in front of a roaring crowd at the O2 Arena in London in April. Joshua also coasted in his first defense, breaking down the limited Dominic Breazeale over the course of seven rounds in June.

Joshua’s promoter had spent the time since trying to finalize a dance partner for November, all while working toward a unification bout in 2017, perhaps against Deontay Wilder.

One option was unbeaten contender Joseph Parker, who is Joshua’s mandatory challenger. Other names included once-beaten contender Kubrat Pulev, whose lone loss came to Klitschko in 2014, and former titleholder Bermane Stiverne, who lost his belt to Wilder in 2015.

Stiverne will instead be facing Alexander Povetkin, with the winner going on to face Wilder. No deal was made with Pulev. Any fight with Parker, if it comes, will now take place in 2017.

Klitschko was suddenly available and was certainly the perfect choice.

Klitschko was the marquee name at heavyweight for nine and a half years, sharing the spotlight for a time upon the return of his older brother, Vitali, but otherwise was the consistent presence in the division. He’d won a title in April 2006 and defended with 18 victories against 17 opponents. He’d unified belts and been recognized as the true champ.

He went down with too little resistance.

Fury didn’t knock him out, but Klitschko essentially took himself out. He only threw 231 punches over the course of 12 rounds. He landed just 52 shots. A mere 18 of them were power punches. That’s an average of one power shot landing every two minutes.

Fury deserved credit for his strategy, which utilized speed, elusiveness and awkwardness and helped take away Klitschko’s jab. But Klitschko looked unwilling or unable to adjust, to dig in when his championship was on the line. Some wondered whether time was catching up with him, if he could no longer throw what he wanted and when he wanted. Klitschko has since said he merely failed to let his hands go.

Joshua sparred with Klitschko in 2014. Sparring isn’t the same as fighting, but it does give one some familiarity. Joshua is confident in his skills, his speed and his power. Whether he wins solely because of that or if victory also comes because Klitschko is declining, he still would have a victory over the former champion, a huge name on his record, and more sway in negotiations with future foes.

Klitschko, meanwhile, needs a win over a significant opponent in lieu of a fight with Fury. At 40, there’s only time to rebound, not to rebuild.

He’s had to rebuild before: after the technical knockout loss to Ross Puritty in 1998, early in his pro career, just two years after he won Olympic gold; after the stunning stoppage loss to Corrie Sanders in 2003 that ended his first world title reign; and after the technical knockout loss to Lamon Brewster in 2014 that led plenty to conclude that Klitschko was too fragile, too nervous and too flawed to compete at a high level.

One loss is consequential. Two losses in a short span can be conclusive.

Except Klitschko proved everyone wrong, adjusting and building confidence and winning and dominating.

He went 11-and-a-half years without a loss. He went 10 years without looking as shaky as he did in his first fight with Samuel Peter. He went nine-and-a-half years with his second title reign.

It’s been a long, long time since he was in this position.

Joshua is gifted with the kind of speed, power and stature that are too rarely seen in combination in the heavyweight division. He has been working on improving the skill and technique with which he uses his gifts.

Klitschko needed an opponent like Joshua, rather than biding his time against the second and third tier of someones and anyones. It’s even better that Joshua has a title, and that one or two of the belts Fury vacated may also be up for grabs.

This fight won’t give Klitschko a chance at revenge. This fight is still important. It is a fight for his career.

This fight will either show him to still be relevant or will send him into retirement.

“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com