view stats. ; Klitschko has defeated 23 opponents for the World Heavyweight Championship, more than any other heavyweight in history. In general, it's important to analyze fighters in their primes and at the peak of their powers when trying to make a pick in a fantasy fight. In one night, Klitschko went from retired underachiever to world titleholder for a third time. It was the younger Klitschko who first came to worldwide prominence when he won the Olympic heavyweight gold medal in Atlanta in 1996, aged 20. Results: 1994 Heavyweight Silver Medalist at the Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. "Each of us want to show the other that he can do things better. In his career, he has knocked out 30 of 33 opponents. Klitschko ran for mayor of Kiev and the Ukrainian parliament in 2006. In his career, he's stopped 52 opponents, for a KO ratio of 78 percent. Tyson vs. Lewis in Prime—What Would Have Happened? Vitali Klitschko (Ukrainian: Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko) is a former WBO, WBC and Ring Magazine World Heavyweight Champion. Klitschko's first title defense was an eighth-round TKO of Danny Williams on December 11, 2004. Klitschko has also developed the ability to slightly alter the punch mid-delivery, turning it into a sythe-like, long-range hook. "Failure is not an option." And he has won consistently; he’s 36-2, with an eye-popping 35 knockouts. "A lot of his buddies passed away right away after that," Klitschko says. We sparred with each other, and those sparring sessions were not fun. Both have said that they would never agree to such a matchup because they did not want to break their mother's heart. Wladimir would then wear his opponent down over the course of the fight, eventually dropping in some right-hand punches when he was satisfied that his adversary no longer posed a threat. She said you can box however you want, but promise me one thing, you will never fight each other in the ring.". The Klitschkos have been fighting for another system outside the ring: Democracy. "Vitali, who is five years older, started with sports, and he went all over the world," explains Wladimir, who turned 39 at the end of March. The fight was rescheduled for June 18, but pushed back again because the thigh muscle wasn't fully healed. Klitschko lost the fight – his second and final setback – but proved to be a warrior at least on that night. He found out what goes with that, how difficult those things are to live with. He's a likable fighter. Vitali is the older brother who brought his younger sibling into boxing in the first place. While younger brother Wladimir is known as Dr. Steelhammer, the older and larger Klitschko sibling, Vitali, has long been known by his fans as Dr. Ironfist. Klitschko didn’t back down in spite of a horrible cut above his left eye, the result of a punch in the third round. Rocky Marciano 5'10 185 pounds 69inch reach vs. Vitali Klitschko 6'7 240 pounds 79inch reach. Even the fighters who finished on their feet against Klitschko suffered for it. Vitali Klitschko opponents. Gonzalez's hard-hitting style has finally started to earn him the kind of attention tiny fighters rarely get. He started his career with 26 straight KOs. Spinks, though slender, had the height and reach of a heavyweight. It's possible to speculate that Wilder's record is a bit of a mirage. Results: The Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, are two of the hardest punchers of all time, let alone the past 10 years. He launches fight ending punches with both hands. While he is likely nearing the end of his run, expect him to add another victim or two to his roll call before he hangs up the gloves. At the time, it gave him 21 straight stoppages to start his career. Klitschko received 26% of the vote in the mayoral election. Klitschko held the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles longer than any other fighter in history, and he is the second longest-reigning heavyweight champion of all-time. However, Klitschko, who faces Juan Carlos Gomez on Saturday, might be defined by two events: a loss to Lennox Lewis in which he won the respect of the boxing world and his remarkable comeback after the long layoff. He said he went to a Ukrainian doctor who gave him something that would heal it, but he didn't check the doping list. The 37-year-old Ukranian fighter (36-2, 35 KOs) used his height - he's 6-foot-7 - and reach to keep Peter crouched and defensive. On December 16, 2013, Klitschko vacated the WBC heavyweight title. I prepare it in a very specific and systematic way. It was very bloody, emotional, and we just realized after getting injured, in another sparring session against your brother, we decided not to do that. What resulted was an adaptation of style that began to see him box more cautiously. He was a late substitute for Kirk Johnson, who pulled out of the fight because of an injury. Results: 1996 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at the European Championships in Vejle, Denmark. 1993 Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the Junior European Championships in Saloniki, Greece. Boxing was very popular in Soviet times, and amateur sport in general. Klitschko holds the longest combined World Heavyweight Championship reign in history. During his second reign as WBC heavyweight champion, Klitschko successfully defended the title nine times. However, Klitschko must be given credit for an exceptional performance under the unusual circumstances. “Against Lewis he acted like a guy who found that out. Name: Wladimir KlitschkoAlias: Dr SteelhammerBirth Name: Volodymyr Volodymyrovych KlychkoBorn: 1976-03-25Hometown: Kiev, UkraineBirthplace: Zhangiztobe, KazakhstanStance: OrthodoxHeight: 198cmReach: 206cmPro Boxer: RecordAmateur Boxer: Record "I'm trying to unify the last belt that he held, the WBC belt," he says of the title, which is held by Deontay Wilder, the first American heavyweight champion since 2006. Klitschko fought Lennox Lewis for the WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles on June 21, 2003. Klitschko knocked out Herbie Hide in two rounds to win the WBO heavyweight title on June 26, 1999. Meanwhile, Lewis was 37 at the time, and perhaps not in the best of shape, but he was coming off his spectacular knockout of Mike Tyson almost exactly a year earlier and was considered a heavy favorite over the plodding Eastern European. You could tell in some of his fights that there was real spite in his efforts—every punch was thrown with bad intentions. The fourth date for the fight was November 12, but Klitschko then injured his knee while sparring and had to have surgery. Wladimir has changed quite a lot throughout his career. Klitschko turned professional with Universum Box-Promotion in Hamburg under the tutelage of Fritz Sdunek, often being featured on fight cards alongside his elder brother Vitali. Shannon Briggs has turned stalking Wladimir Klitschko into an ongoing, Youtube dramedy. Wladimir said his boxing education was taken to another level when he started working with famed trainer Emanuel Steward, who had actually stood in the opposite corner when Vitali lost to defending champion Lennox Lewis the previous year in 2003. #motivationmonday #nopainnogain #klitschko A photo posted by Wladimir Klitschko (@klitschko_official) on … It was his first fight in 46 months. “He learned what happens when you stop behaving like a fighter, when you pull yourself out of a fight. Gagarin might have been the first man to journey into outer space, but Klitschko's real inspiration was Robinson Crusoe, the castaway title character of Daniel Defoe's classic 18th-century novel. Wladimir Klitschko is a former World Heavyweight Champion. Last December marked the arrival of baby daughter Kaya -- his first child with fiancée Hayden Panettiere. For his career, Povetkin has knocked out 21 of 30 opponents for a 70 percent rate. Stiverne remains the only top-10 fighter Wilder has faced. He pulled out of four consecutive fights because of injuries – three scheduled bouts in 2004 against Hasim Rahman, the last of which prompted his retirement – and a comeback bout against Jameel McCline in 2005. Only four of Klitschko's 45 wins made it the distance. He didn’t have the fire he’d shown in the past; it was almost as if he didn’t show up. As he's moved up in weight, he's kept his power. Klitschko dominated the fight, and Peter retired in his corner after the eighth round. Gennady Golovkin has the appearance and demeanor of an affable physical education teacher. Klitschko, comfortably ahead on points, retired after the ninth round due to an injured shoulder. The next date, July 23, had to be changed after Klitschko had minor back surgery. But it's Klitschko's straight right that earned him the nickname "Dr. The punishment he delivered over 12 rounds to Shannon Briggs in 2010 was legitimately scary to watch. The size is a major difference, but skills and attributes are what count Marciano has the speed advantage, the power advantage, an iron chin, giant heart, conditioning, and combinations. The (officials) did what they had to do, pulling him out, but he was going to fight on.”. As he put it in a statement released at the time, “”Unfortunately, I've been fighting injuries recently more than facing rivals in the ring.”. Many experts feel he’s the best heavyweight in the world , even better than his younger brother. Vitali just under ft7,0. But on the other hand there is a lot of respect and love to each other. He hopes to be as much of a role model to his family as his own father was. The elections were held on March 26. And since losing to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, his power has seemed to increase. Still, with the kind of pop Kovalev packs, it's hard to resist at least speculating how he might do against some of the smaller heavyweight contenders. Trainers: Fritz Sdunek (1996-2003), Emanuel Steward (2004-2012), Johnathon Banks (2012-2017) It's simple: Find a goal, be disciplined, and know the system.". However, Klitschko was elected as a people's deputy to Kiev City Council. To speculate, you need to first analyze the brothers' styles. But Viloria also fights in a style that should make him very vulnerable to be yet another name on Gonzalez's list. He nearly perfected the use of his huge reach—primarily his jab. But those knockouts are for real. He was spurred on by his amateur success, having won Olympic gold for Ukraine in 1996. Klitschko gave Lewis a much tougher fight than most expected. Vitali's Tactic Is Going for Knockouts . However, Lewis opened bad cuts over both of Klitschko's eyes, which led to the fight being stopped after the sixth round. Promoter Bob Arum said the fight could be rescheduled for March 2006, but Klitschko, frustrated by his injuries, announced his retirement on November 9, 2005. You could tell in some of his fights that there was real spite in his efforts—every punch was thrown with bad intentions. He was the champion for 4 382 days (12 years). He won election to Ukraine's parliament on December 15, 2012. Tunney fought very long for his era. Vladimir was able to see his sons turn professional in late 1996. "It was not a coincidence that I won a gold medal because I'd been competing for six years when I was at the Olympics," Klitschko says. Klitschko revealed in his 2004 autobiography that he turned to steroids after aggravating an old leg injury he had sustained in a kickboxing tournament. This page was last modified on 27 September 2020, at 13:32.

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