VITALI KLITSCHKO

'Dr. Vitali Vladimirovich Klitschko' () born July 19, 1971). known as "Dr. Iron Fist", is a professional boxer since 1996. In 2005 he retired, but in January 2007 he announced his comeback. He was the WBC heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 2004 and 2005. He is 6' 8" (203 cm) tall and weighs 250 lbs (113 kg). He was born in Belovodsk, Kyrgyzstan, in the former Soviet Union. Vitali has the highest knock out percentage (92%) of any heavyweight champion in overall fights. His victories come at a 97% knock out rate. Rocky Marciano is second with 88% KO rate but he fought around 50 pro bouts. His younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is the current IBF & IBO World Heavyweight champion. Their father, Wladimir Rodionovich, was a Soviet Air Force Colonel. Their mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna. Vitali Klitschko is married. His wife is a former athlete and model Natalia Egorova. They met in Kyiv, Ukraine and got married in April of 1996. He has three children, Egor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max. In 1996 Vitali finished Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted in the postgraduate study program of the Kyiv University. On February 29, 2000, Vitali presented his doctorate thesis at the Kyiv University of physical science and sports, and was awarded the title of PhD - doctor of philosophy in Sports Science.

Contents

Boxing career

Comeback

Kiev Mayoral Candidate

Chess

Record

Career

Trivia

Championships Won

External links

See also

References

Boxing career

Originally a professional kickboxer, Vitali was also a boxer and won the Super Heavyweight Championship at the first World Military Games in Italy in 1995. In the same year he won the silver medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, where he was defeated by Russia's Alexei Lezinin the final. He began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical-knockout (TKO). He and Wladimir were hot prospects, and had signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding Ph.D.s and being multilingual, their charismatic, refined and articulate personalities made for mainstream marketability when they moved to Germany and Universum; in time, they became national celebrities in their adopted home country. In his 25th pro fight, on June 26 1999, Klitschko won the World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Championship from Herbie Hide (of the UK) via 1st-round KO. He defended the title twice before losing it on April 1 2000 to American Chris Byrd; complaining of intense shoulder pain, Vitali and his corner decided not to continue the fight after the ninth round. Vitali was ahead on all three judges' scorecards (89-82, and 88-83 twice), but the way he ended this match brought international criticism, plus a reputation as a quitter. Some gave him the nickname "Quitschko" and others called him "Shitaly". He had surgery to repair the rotator cuff torn during the bout. In Byrd's next fight he was dethroned by Wladimir (knocking Byrd down in Rounds 9 and 11 and winning by KO in round 12), avenging his elder brother.
Though saddled with this new reputation, Vitali continued to fight his way up the ladder of fringe contenders and journeymen, beating Orlin Norris, Ross Puritty, Vaughn Bean, and Larry Donald. On June 21 2003, he fought Lennox Lewis for his WBC Heavyweight Championship in Los Angeles. For the first two rounds, Vitali was fighting very well against Lewis, winning the two rounds. In Round three, Lewis landed a punch that left a gruesome cut over Klitschko's left eye. The next 2 rounds were give and take. Before round seven, the ringside doctor inspected the cut and thought it severe enough to threaten eye damage if hit again. He stopped the fight, despite Klitschko's pleas to continue the fight. Because the cuts around Vitali's eye were a result of the punches from Lewis, and not an accidental headbutt, the rules stated that Lewis would win by a technical knockout. Though he had lost by TKO, Klitschko gained international respect for fighting so well against the consensus World Heavyweight Champion for the first 6 rounds. Afterward, it was revealed that Vitali had kept fighting despite sustaining an internal injury, as well. This redeemed him in most fans' eyes, and many no longer considered him a quitter. Lewis retired after this bout.
On December 6 2003, Vitali returned to the ring against Canadian Kirk Johnson in Madison Square Garden and knocked him out in round one, reclaiming his place as the WBC's number-one contender. Johnson looked terribly out of shape, prompting HBO analyst Larry Merchant to call him a "whale"^[1]. Around this time, the Klitschkos moved from Hamburg to L.A. The western U.S.'s premium training facilities were now nearby, and they could boost their profiles by mixing socially with boxing insiders. In January 2004, they notified Universum that they would not re-sign when their contracts expired in April. Universum sued the brothers, arguing that their recent injuries had triggered a clause binding them beyond April. The suit was resolved in late 2004.
Klitschko earned an 8th-round TKO victory over South African Corrie Sanders on April 24 2004, to capture the World Boxing Council Heavyweight Championship which had been vacated by Lewis, in Los Angeles. Sanders had dominantly knocked-out (2nd Round TKO) younger brother Wladimir on March 8, 2003. This fight was also for The Ring Magazine belt. Despite the bout with Vitali being for the "legitimate" World Title, few had seen Sanders as a legitimate contender for the crown before his bout with younger brother Wladimir (who had himself been the top contender). Sanders had not fought in over a year and looked in poor shape when facing the elder Klitschko. Klitschko was rocked early by the powerful Sanders, but by using movement and strong punching he broke down Sanders and forced the referee to stop the bout. In a sport flooded with under-educated competitors, the former Soviet became the first professional boxing world champion with a PhD (in sports medicine and philosophy).
Vitali Klitschko's first world title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a surprise TKO of the declining "Iron" Mike Tyson in round 7. Klitschko TKO'd Williams in 8 rounds on December 11, 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko easily threw many punches during the fight, knocking Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was mercifully stopped. Immediately afterwards, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine, and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in the December 26, 2004, election revote.
The WBC designated former WBC, WBA & IBF world Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman as Klitschko’s next mandatory challenger; the fight was set for April 30, 2005. Klitschko injured his thigh while training for the fight, so it was rescheduled for June 18. As this date approached, Klitschko’s camp said that the thigh had not fully healed; the WBC made July 23 the new fight date. Soon after this second postponement, Vitali’s doctors reportedly discovered back injuries that they said demanded minor-yet-immediate corrective surgery. The WBC pushed the fight date back to November 12; Vitali's share of the purse following this match would reportedly be between $7.8 million and $10 million (U.S.). After this third rescheduling, Rahman, tired of the delays, fought the #2 contender over the summer for the WBC's "Interim" heavyweight title (i.e., temporary-champion status, pending the linear titleholder’s – Klitschko’s – return; then, the two must fight each other). Rahman won the "championship;" Vitali would be stripped of his now-disputed title if his first fight back was not against Rahman, or if he was not ready to fight by the WBC's deadline. During the first part of the week of November 12, 2005, Klitschko had major surgery in L.A. for right knee injuries (a torn meniscus, a bone bruise, plus an undiagnosed MCL tear) that occurred while training the week before. The total recovery time from such injuries averaged around 6 months. The WBC said it would strip him of the championship if he was unable to box within 60-90 days of a soon-to-be-announced base date; however, on November 9, 2005, Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing. He cited regrets about his suddenly-mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top, and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine[1]. Following his retirement, the WBC designated Klitschko with "champion emeritus" status and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return. He still occasionally calls out Lennox Lewis, who has been retired since early 2004, for a rematch. With a record of 37 wins, 2 losses due to injury and 34 KOs, Vitali Klitschko has never been knocked down and possesses one of the greatest knock out percentages in professional boxing history.

Comeback

In the German Bild-Zeitung he announced on January 24 2007 his comeback and requested at WBC a fight against Oleg Maskaev.^[2] WBC President Jose Sulaiman explained, that the Board of Governors must vote about the fight. The fight was supposedly to take place in Moscow. The Winner of the fight would have to fight against the mandatory challenger Samuel Peter.^[3] For several alleged reasons, one being Peter's promoters challenging the fight claiming he should be first in line against Maskaev, this deal eventually fell apart. Instead, on September 22nd, 2007, Klitschko will face heavyweight contender Jameel McCline. If he beats McCline then he will face the winner of the September 29th fight between Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter for the WBC title.

Kiev Mayoral Candidate

Klitschko began campaigning for mayor of Kyiv shortly after his retirement. Klitschko lost the election to Leonid Chernovetsky but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko. Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform associated with Pora party. Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, he was elected as a people's deputy to Kiev City Council.

Chess

Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players, along with former champ Lennox Lewis. Vitali is a friend of the Undisputed World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning very easily. Vitali has commented that "chess is similar to boxing. You need to develop a strategy, and you need to think two or three steps ahead about what your opponent is doing. You have to be smart. But what's the difference between chess and boxing? In chess, nobody is an expert, but everybody plays. In boxing everybody is an expert, but nobody fights."

Record

★ Amateur kickboxing:unknown

★ Amateur boxing:195 wins (80 KOs) and 15 losses in 210 fights

★ Professional kickboxing:unknown

★ Professional boxing: 35 wins (34 KOs) and 2 losses in 37 fights

Career

★ EBU (European) heavyweight champion

★ WBO intercontinental heavyweight champion {secondary title}

★ WBA international heavyweight champion {secondary title}

★ WBO heavyweight champion

★ WBC world heavyweight champion

★ IBA world heavyweight champion

★ The Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion of the World, 2004-2005 (an honorary distinction in its periodic boxer rankings)
Check out http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=007033 for detailed info about his career record.

Trivia

★ Klitschko used the song "Empire Of The Champ" (sung by German pop singer Alexis) as his entrance song music in the 90s

★ According to Till Lindemann, the song Sonne was originally written as an entrance song for Klitschko, which was also the working title of the song. [2].

★ He and his wife Natalia married on April 1996. He has three children: Egor-Daniel (
★ 2000), Elizabeth-Victoria (
★ 2002) and Maximilian (
★ 2005) (who is named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling).

★ Klitschko is one of few heavyweight champions never to have been knocked down professionally.

★ Because of the success of the Rocky film series, to many Americans, he reminds them of fictional fighter Ivan Drago.

★ The Klitschko brothers have created their own design collection of men's sports and leather clothes with HUGO BOSS.

★ The Klitschko brothers have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to support the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries.

Championships Won

★ May 2, 1998 - Vacant WBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. Defeated Dick Ryan by 5th round TKO. Successfully defended title twice before relinquishing title.

★ October 24, 1998 - Vacant European Boxing Union Heavyweight Championship. Defeated Mario Schiesser by 2nd round TKO. Successfully defended title once before relinquishing title.

★ June 26, 1999 - WBO World Heavyweight Championship. Defeated Herbie Hide by 2nd round knockout. Successfully defended title twice before losing title on April 1, 2000 to Chris Byrd.

★ November 25, 2000 - Vacant European Boxing Union Heavyweight Championship. Defeated Timo Hoffmann by 12 round decision. Did not successfully defend title.

★ January 27, 2001 - Vacant World Boxing Association International Heavyweight Championship. Defeated Orlin Norris by 1st round knockout. Successfully defended title three times before relinquishing title to face Lennox Lewis on June 21, 2003 for the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Organization World Heavyweight Championships.

★ April 24, 2004 - Vacant WBC World Championship. Defeated Corrie Sanders via 8th round TKO.

★ December 11, 2004 - First title defence. Defeated Danny Williams in the 8th round by TKO.

External links

★ The Official Site of Klitschko Brothers

★ Vitali Klitschko's career record

★ A video example of Klitschko's boxing style

See also

★ List of heavyweight boxing champions

References

1. Building Momentum
2. http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/sport/2007/01/24/klitschko-vitali-comeback/boxen-comeback.html
3. http://www.boxingscene.com/index.php?m=show&id=7083



★ Kyiv gets first new mayor in decade Kyiv Post. 29 March 2006.