The Klitschko Years

Born as Vitali Volomyrovych Klitschko on 19th July 1971 in Belovodsk, Kyrgyzstan, to father Vladimir Rodionovic Klitschko and mother Nadezhda Ulyanovna. Belovdsk, which means White River in Russian. Belovodsk was formed in the spring of 1868 by twelve families of back settlers from the Astrakhan Governorate of the Russian Empire. Later more settlers would come using a mixture of the Russian language and the Ukrainian language. Vitali would grow to six-foot-seven-inches (2.01 m) and became the first pro boxing world champion to hold a Ph.D. degree and with his knockout power was given the nickname Dr. Ironfist.

Wladimir Wladimirowitsch Klitschko was born on 25th March 1976 in Semipalatinsk, former Soviet Union which is now Kazakhstan. He, like his brother, gained a Ph.D. in sports science and was known as Dr. Steelhammer in the ring. Wladimir was also tall like his brother, standing at six-foot-six inches (1.98 m). Both men were set to represent Ukraine at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, with Vitali competing as a super-heavyweight and Wladimir campaigning as a heavyweight.

However, Vitali Klitschko was thrown off the Ukrainian team for failing a doping test and given a two-year suspension. With Wladimir struggling to make weight, he took his brother’s place at super-heavy and went on to outpoint Tonga’s Paea Wolfgramm to become the gold medallist.

In his 2004 autobiography, Vitali Klitschko admitted he turned to steroids after aggravating an old leg injury he sustained in a kickboxing tournament. The Ukrainian doctor gave him something to help heal his leg but didn’t check the doping list, which resulted in his ban.

Both brothers joined German boxing manager and promoter Klaus Peter Kohl’s Universum Box-Promotion umbrella and had the same trainer Fritz Sdunek when they debuted on the same night on 16th November 1996. Vitali knocked out the American Tony Bradham in the second round and Wladimir won by first-round knockout against Mexican Fabian Meza.

They predominantly based themselves in Germany and climbed the ranks, with Wladimir taking the vacant WBC International crown in February 1998 and Vitali winning the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title in May 1998 and five months later picking up the vacant European heavyweight title.

Both brothers finally fought in front of their Ukraine fans in December 1998. Vitali made the maiden defence of his EBU championship, stopping the Italian challenger in the opening round.

Wladimir, making the third defence of his WBC International belt against America’s Ross Puritty, didn’t have the homecoming everybody was expecting. The American had lost three of his last four contests with a record of 24-13-1 (21 KOs) with Klitschko boasting a perfect 24-0 (21 KOs). The Ukrainian started well, winning round after round, but neglected to pace himself and by round ten was a spent force and put to the canvas.

Puritty took full advantage of the tired Ukrainian and forced Fritz Sdunek to climb through the ropes and stop his charge from taking further unnecessary punishment with just 18 seconds on the clock of round eleven.

Vitali continued his unbeaten streak and in June 1999, with a record of 24-0 (24 KOs) challenged Herbie Hide for the WBO heavyweight title. Hide was making the third defence in his second reign as champion, losing the title for the first time to Riddick Bowe in March 1995. Hide regained the belt with a first round stoppage of Tony Tucker in June 1997, with Klitschko taking two rounds to relieve Hide of his heavyweight title. 

Wladimir started his rehabilitation in February 1999 and by that September claimed the vacant European heavyweight championship with an eighth round TKO over Axel Schulz.

Vitali successfully defended his WBO crown twice before the century was out and was due to defend his belt against Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock on 01st April 2000. Chris Byrd, who was in training to face Lawrence Clay-Bey, took the place of Ruddock on ten days’ notice when the Canadian tested positive for hepatitis. The challenger had only lost once to Ike Ibeabuchi in a 30-1 (18 KOs) resume but wasn’t considered a threat to the undefeated Ukrainian.

After nine completed rounds Klitschko was ahead by two scores of 89-83 and 89-82. However, he quit on his stool with a shoulder injury, which was later diagnosed as a torn rotator cuff, forfeiting his unbeaten record and world title to the American. HBO commentator Larry Merchant questioned Klitschko’s fighting heart, saying: “He doesn’t have the mentality of a champion. I can hardly believe what I just saw.”

Wladimir carried on winning to earn first shot at Chris Byrd and the chance to restore some family pride on 14th October 2000. The younger sibling hardly put a foot wrong, downing the champion in rounds nine and eleven to claim a unanimous decision to become WBO heavyweight champion.

The following month Vitali returned to the ring and outscored the undefeated Timo Hoffmann for the vacant EBU heavyweight title. He started 2001 with a first round knockout of Orlin Norris to claim the vacant WBA Inter-Continental title and finished the year by stopping Wladimir’s conqueror Ross Puritty in eleven rounds.

Wladimir made the first defence of his title with a second-round stoppage of Derrick Jefferson in March 2001 and a sixth round TKO against Charles Sufford in Las Vegas five months later.

Vitali made the second defence of his WBA Inter-Continental strap with an eleventh-round stoppage of Vaughn Bean in February 2002, who had only been outpointed by Michael Moorer and Evander Holyfield in world title challenges in 1997 and ‘98 respectively. A month later Wladimir saw off the challenge of South Africa’s Frans Botha with an eighth round TKO.

Three months later the WBO champion was back in the States, becoming the first man to stop Ray Mercer. That November Vitali stopped Larry Donald in a WBA title eliminator and the following month younger brother Wladimir stayed in the U.S to make the fifth successful WBO defence, stopping Jameel McCline with a tenth-round retirement. 

 

In March 2003 Wladimir returned to Germany to face the thirty-seven-year-old South African Corrie Sanders. Klitschko had just signed a nine-fight deal with HBO and looked to repay his paymasters with an impressive victory.

However, it was the challenger who looked impressive, knocking down the champion twice in the final minute of the opening round and finally stopping Klitschko after dropping him a further two more times within the first twenty-seven seconds of round two. Klitschko remained confident despite the shock defeat, “I’m certain I will come back. I’m certain I will be world champion. All the great champions have been beaten, then came back. It happened to (Muhammad) Ali, it’s happened to Lennox Lewis too.”

On 21st June 2003 Vitali Klitschko finally got his shot at WBC champion Lennox Lewis. The number one contender was scheduled to face Cedric Boswell on the undercard of Lewis’s defence against Kirk Johnson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, Johnson suffered a partial tear on his left pectoral muscle, with Klitschko stepping in with only twelve days' notice.

The champion was a four-to-one favourite to retain his crown, despite the challenger’s advantages in age and height. The opening round was full of mauling with the challenger being the slight aggressor. His aggressiveness paid dividends in the second, shaking Lewis with a right to the jaw.

Lewis took the fight to Klitschko in the third and a right hand opened a nasty cut between the Ukrainian’s left eyelid and eyebrow. Though the champion was starting to find his accuracy, Klitschko was still having his successes. 

The champion targeted the damaged eye with his jab, as both men landed haymakers in an untidy fourth round. Though Klitschko’s eye was a bloody mess, he had some hope of victory with Lewis appearing exhausted at the bell. The champion shifted through the gears in the following round, landing with some devastating uppercuts. Klitschko was also landing with heavy artillery and at times had the champion on the verge of defeat, though the challenger returned to his corner with a split cheek, his corner working frantically to stem the blood.

 

The challenger showed heart and a great chin in the sixth, taking a Lewis right uppercut flush on the jaw. Both men took their fair share of punishment, with the challenger appearing the fresher of the two. Lewis finished the round with a cut on his nose, but it was Klitschko who was showing the bigger damage, despite leading by unanimous scores of 58-56 after six completed rounds.

 

Ring physician Dr. Paul Wallace instructed referee Lou Moret to stop the contest during the minute rest period, later explaining:  "I asked him to look at me and, when he lifted his head, his eyelid covered his field of vision. He had to move his head to see me. If he had to move his head to see me, there was no way he could defend himself. If he got hit with an overhand right, he might not be able to see it. It was a dangerous situation."

Klitschko and the fans in attendance were in uproar as Lewis retained his WBC title. "Right now, I feel like the people's champion," said a distraught Vitali Klitschko. "I did not want them to stop the fight. My strategy was to take it into the seventh and eighth rounds. My strategy was working. I knew his conditioning was not good."

 

Five months after his shock defeat to Corrie Sanders, Wladimir returned to action with a first round knockout of Fabio Eduardo Moli for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental title, finishing the year with a fourth round TKO over Danell Nicholson in his first defence of the belt.

 

Earlier that December older brother Vitali made his ring return in a WBC elimination match, stopping Kirk Johnson in the second round at Madison Square Garden. 

 

Both brothers competed for vacant world heavyweight titles in April 2004. First Wladimir got a chance to win back his WBO crown when he took on Lamon Brewster at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on 10th April. Corrie Sanders relinquished the WBO belt to challenge Vitali Klitschko for the vacant WBC crown. 

Wladimir, ranked number one by the World Boxing Organisation, was a seven-to-one favourite to defeat the number two rated Brewster. The odds seemed reasonable with Klitschko dominating the fight with his left lead and dropping the American in the fourth round. However, towards the end of round five Brewster found the left hooks that changed the fight. Wladimir was hurt and fell into the ropes with the referee ruling a knockdown. Brewster went after him and hurt his man again at the bell, with Klitschko tasting the canvas once more. Once he wearily got to his feet referee Robert Boyd waved the finish.

On 24th April, Vitali faced his brother’s conqueror Corrie Sanders for the WBC crown left vacant after the retirement of Lennox Lewis. Sanders looked to secure his second victory over a Klitschko. The problem for the South African was that Vitali was able to stand up to his early bombs and ended up dominating Sanders until referee Jon Schorle stopped the contest in the eighth round.

 

Wladimir returned to winning ways six months later, whilst Vitali made the first defence of his WBC title in the December against Danny Williams. The Briton had secured a shot at the champion by shocking Mike Tyson with a fourth-round knockout five months previously.

 

Williams was decked in rounds one, three, and seven before getting dropped for the final time in round eight. The reigning champion was then scheduled to face Hasim Rahman on 30th April 2005, but whilst out jogging Klitschko pulled a muscle in his upper thigh, rescheduling the bout for 18th June. With his injury not healing sufficiently the contest was postponed until 23rd July, however that date was changed to 12th November when the Ukrainian underwent minor back surgery.

 

The November date then had to be scrapped when the champion sustained a knee injury whilst sparring, which meant he had to go under the knife again. Promoter Bob Arum suggested a March 2006 date, but Klitschko, frustrated with his injuries, retired from the sport on 09th November 2005 aged thirty-four. However, the WBC appointed Klitschko as Champion Emeritus, meaning if he decided to reignite his career, he would become the immediate mandatory contender. 

A win for Wladimir in April 2005 set him up for an IBF and WBO elimination contest against the undefeated Nigerian Samuel Peter in September 2005. Wladimir’s chin let him down, twice hitting the canvas in round five and touching down again in the tenth. However, the Ukrainian did enough to secure a unanimous 114-111 verdict.

The victory got him a rematch with IBF king Chris Byrd in April 2006, who was making the fifth defence of his title. Klitschko dominated the contest before stopping the champion 41 seconds into round seven. Wladimir made three defences, including a revenge match against Lamon Brewster in July 2007. The champion dominated and Brewster's corner decided to pull him out after six rounds.

 

In February 2008 Klitschko unified a portion of the heavyweight title by outpointing WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov. It was another dominating performance by the Ukrainian in which saw two non-Americans contest a heavyweight unification bout.

Five months later Wladimir knocked out Tony Thompson in seven rounds and on 11th October 2008 Vitali made his ring return against WBC champion Samuel Peter. It had been forty-six months since his last appearance and despite his inactivity dominated the contest to regain his old belt after the champion retired after eight rounds. The victory meant both brothers were now heavyweight title holders simultaneously.

 

Vitali made nine successful defences and retired from the sport after his fourth-round stoppage of the unbeaten Mahmoud Charr in September 2012, with his final resume reading 45-2 (41 KOs). He’s the only heavyweight champion to reign in three different decades and along with Oliver McCall and Nikolai Valuev has never been knocked down in any of his professional contests. He also joined George Foreman to defend the heavyweight title in his forties.

 

Klitschko started his political career in 2005 and in 2010 he founded the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) party and was elected into parliament for the UDAR in 2012. Two years later he became Mayor of Kyiv.

Meanwhile, younger brother Wladimir also continued to defend his belts, adding David Haye’s WBA championship to his IBF and WBO titles in July 2011. The victory meant the Klitschko's now held all four major heavyweight belts simultaneously, making them the first brothers ever to do so. 

 

Wladimir finally lost his belts in his nineteenth defence to the unbeaten Tyson Fury in November 2015. With a rematch against Fury falling through, Klitschko next fought Anthony Joshua for the IBF and WBA Super belt on 29th April 2017. After getting floored in the fifth, Klitschko put the defending champion down in the sixth. Joshua then went on to deck the former champion twice in the eleventh to retain his crown in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.

 

Klitschko announced his retirement on 03rd August 2017 aged forty-one with a record of 64-5 (53 KOs). Wladimir held the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts longer than any other fighter in history and holds the longest combined reign in heavyweight history, being champion for 4,382 days (12 years).

His second reign of nine years, seven months and seven days is second to Joe Louis, who held the championship for eleven years, eight months and eight days. His combined nineteen defences are eclipsed only by Larry Holmes (20 defences) and Louis (25 defences).

All the best fight fans

Lea

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