Vitali Klitschko
Vitaly Volodymyrovych Klitschko is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He currently serves as Mayor of Kiev and head of the Kiev City State Administration, having held both offices since June 2014. Klitschko is a former leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. He became actively involved in Ukrainian politics in 2005 and combined this with his professional boxing career until his retirement from the sport in 2013.
As a boxer, Klitschko is a three-time world heavyweight champion, the second-longest-reigning WBC heavyweight champion of all time and has the fifth-longest combined world championship reign in history at 2,735 days. He held the WBO title from 1999 to 2000; the Ring magazine title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC title twice between 2008 and 2013. In 2011, Vitali and his brother Wladimir entered the Guinness World Records book as the pair of brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins.
Standing at and usually coming into fights around 250 pounds, Klitschko was renowned for having exceptional ring dominance. With an 87% knockout percentage, he holds the third highest knockout-to-fight ratios of any world champion in heavyweight boxing history, behind Deontay Wilder and Rocky Marciano while also possessing a highly durable chin. He defeated two world champions and five former world champions in the course of his career; several other boxers he beat were ranked within the global top ten by BoxRec within a year of him beating them. He was still the reigning WBC world heavyweight champion at 42 years of age when he finally announced his retirement in December 2013. His only two losses came via a shoulder injury and a deep cut above his eye, both of which were recorded as stoppages rather than outright knockouts; in both fights he was leading on the judges' scorecards.
Klitschko is one of nine boxers to defeat at least ten different fighters for the world heavyweight title. Vitali has defeated 15 boxers for the world heavyweight title, the fifth-most in history. He is the only heavyweight boxer to have reigned as world champion in three different decades. Along with Oliver McCall and Nikolai Valuev, he is also the only world heavyweight champion to have never been knocked down in any fight. Klitschko and George Foreman are the only heavyweight boxers in history to defend a world title after turning 40. Being the first professional boxing world champion to hold a PhD degree, and in reference to his punching power, Klitschko's nickname was "Dr. Ironfist". His younger brother, Wladimir, is a former unified world heavyweight champion. From 2006 until 2015, Vitali and Wladimir dominated heavyweight boxing, a period typically known as the "Klitschko Era" of the division.
Klitschko formally began his political career in 2006 when he placed second in the Kiev mayoral race. In 2010, he founded the party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and was elected into parliament for this party in 2012. He was a leading figure in the 2013–2014 Euromaidan protests, and he announced his possible candidacy for the Ukrainian presidency but later withdrew and endorsed Petro Poroshenko. He was elected Mayor of Kiev on 25 May 2014. Klitschko headed the election list of the winner of the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, but he gave up his parliamentary seat to stay on as Mayor of Kiev. On 28 August 2015 the UDAR party merged into Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Klitschko thus became the new party leader. Klitschko was reelected as mayor on 15 November 2015. Klitschko revived UDAR, and left Petro Poroshenko Bloc with it, in May 2019 and simultaneously announced that UDAR would take part in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election autonomously. UDAR however failed to win any seats.
Kickboxing and amateur boxing career (1985–1996)
Originally, as karate and kickboxing were both banned in the Soviet Union, and amateur boxing was one of five sanctioned combat sports available to general public Klitschko took up boxing, being trained by former Soviet boxer, 1974 World Championships bronze medalist Anatoliy Klimanov, a head boxing coach of the CSKA Kyiv Sports Club. After the ban was lifted, and Soviets assembled their kickboxing team, Klitschko was its member. He was competing both in amateur boxing, kickboxing, and sport karate simultaneously, showing considerable success in all combat sports which he was involved in.X Summer Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR, boxing, Minsk, Belarus SSR, July 1991:
- 1/2: Lost to Oleg Maskayev RSC 2
- Finals: Lost to Pelé Reid KO
- Finals: Defeated Ryūshi Yanagisawa PTS 5
- Finals: Defeated Richard Vince KO 2
- 1/2: Lost to Christophe Mendy PTS
- 1/8: Defeated Ahn Jung-hyun RSCH 5
- 1/4: Lost to Svilen Rusinov 9–10
- Finals: Lost to Alexei Lezin 1–10
- 1/4: Defeated Willi Fischer 10–0
- 1/2: Defeated René Monse 9–3
- Finals: Defeated Georgi Kandelaki by walkover
- 1/16: Defeated Igor Kshinin RSC 1
- 1/8: Defeated Gytis Juškevičius RSC 2
- 1/4: Defeated Attila Levin RET 2
- 1/2: Defeated René Monse 6–5
- Finals: Lost to Alexei Lezin 3–12
- 1/8: Defeated Drago Mijić by walkover
- 1/4: Defeated Kenneth Horsley RET 1
- 1/2: Defeated Svilen Rusinov RSC 1
- Finals: Defeated Alexei Lezin 9–4
- Finals: Lost to William van Roosmalen KO
Kickboxing record: 34 wins 2 losses
He was a kickboxing world champion six times.
In 1996, he finished his amateur boxing career and turned professional, signing with the German-based Universum Box-Promotion
Professional boxing career (1996–2013)
As an amateur, Klitschko won the super-heavyweight championship at the first World Military Games in Italy in 1995. In the same year he won a silver medal at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, where he was defeated by Russia's Alexei Lezin in the final. In his autobiography, published in Germany in 2004, the boxer revealed that he tested positive for a banned steroid in 1996. He attributed the presence of the drug to treatment of a leg injury, but was dismissed from the Ukrainian boxing team and missed the Atlanta Olympics. His brother Wladimir moved up from heavyweight to super heavyweight to take his place in the squad and won the Olympic gold medal. His amateur record was 195–15 with 80 knockouts.WBO heavyweight champion
Klitschko began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical knockout. He and Wladimir signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding PhDs and being multilingual, their 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 26 June 1999, Klitschko won the WBO Heavyweight title from Herbie Hide of the United Kingdom by a second-round knockout. He successfully defended the title twice. He defeated Ed Mahone by knockout in the third round and beat Obed Sullivan, who retired after the ninth round.Title loss to Byrd
By April 2000 Vitali Klitschko was unbeaten and a rising star in the heavyweight division, having won all 27 of his contests by knockout. On 1 April, Klitschko had a third title defense against the American Chris Byrd, who was a late replacement. Byrd made himself a difficult target and tried to thwart Klitschko's offense by being elusive. Klitschko won most of the rounds and was heading towards a comprehensive points victory when he suffered a serious shoulder injury. After the ninth round, Klitschko notified his corner that he had a shoulder pain and threw in the towel, thus handing Klitschko his first defeat and awarding Byrd the win by RTD. At the time of the stoppage, Klitschko had won 8 of 9 rounds on one judge's scorecard, and 7 of 9 on the two others. Klitschko, who was later diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, received much criticism for quitting the fight. Klitschko rebounded from his loss to Byrd by reeling off five victories in a row, earning himself a shot at WBC Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis.Klitschko vs. Lennox Lewis
The fight between Lewis and Klitschko was to take place in December 2003, and Klitschko signed for a tune-up fight on 21 June 2003 as part of the undercard of Lewis's fight with Kirk Johnson for the IBO title, as the WBC would not sanction the fight for their title. Johnson, however, pulled out of the fight due to injury and Klitschko, due to his being in training for a fight on the same day as Lewis, took the fight on short notice. Immediately after he accepted, the WBC elected to sanction the fight as a title match and Lewis's The Ring title was also up for grabs in addition to his lineal title.Klitschko, a 4–1 underdog, dominated the early going with many harder punches. He stunned Lewis in the second round with two hard rights, leaving a cut under on Lewis's left eye. In the third, Lewis landed a big right hand that opened a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye. Before the seventh round, the ringside doctor inspected the wound and deemed it severe enough to threaten eye damage if struck again, stopping the fight despite Klitschko's pleas to continue. Klitschko was ahead on all three judges' scorecards 58–56 at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis, Lewis won by technical knockout.
Negotiations for a 6 December rematch began. After negotiations collapsed, Vitali defeated Kirk Johnson in a WBC Eliminator bout on 6 December date, setting up a mandatory rematch with Lewis. In January 2004, the WBC announced that it would strip Lewis of the belt if he let pass a 15 March deadline to sign for a rematch with Vitali. Shortly thereafter, Lewis announced his retirement and vacated the title. For years after this fight, Klitschko would still occasionally call out Lewis, despite the fact that Lewis has been retired since early 2004, for a rematch.
Around this time the Klitschko brothers moved from Hamburg, Germany to Los Angeles. 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 ultimately resolved in favor of the Klitschkos in November 2009.
WBC and ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion
Klitschko faced South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004 for the WBC heavyweight championship and The Ring belts that had been vacated by Lewis. Sanders had stopped younger brother Wladimir in the second round on 8 March 2003. Klitschko took a heavy shot in round one by Sanders and almost knocked down right at the end of the round, but by using upper-body movement and accurate punching he broke down Sanders over the following rounds, forcing referee Jon Schorle to stop the bout in the eighth. Vitali landed 60% of his power punches.Klitschko vs. Williams
Klitschko's first WBC title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a KO over Mike Tyson in round 4. Klitschko scored a technical knockout against Williams in 8 rounds on 11 December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko knocked Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was stopped. Immediately afterward, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in 26 December 2004, election revote.2005–2007 retirement
On 9 November 2005, Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing and vacated his title. He had been training to fight Hasim Rahman; however, nine days before the fight, he injured his leg while sparring. He snapped his anterior cruciate ligament, which with surgery would take up to a year to heal and possibly prove career ending. To avoid keeping the title out of use he retired. The WBC was grateful for his consideration. On other occasions 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. Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return.Second WBC heavyweight championship
On 3 August 2008 the WBC awarded Klitschko a chance to regain his WBC Heavyweight title. After Vitali's retirement, his younger brother had established dominance in the division, winning two of the four world titles available. The reigning WBC Champion was Samuel Peter. At the time, there was interest in a potential Peter vs. Wladimir unification match. Instead, Vitali took advantage of his champion emeritus status and secured a title challenge against Peter. The fight was arranged on 11 October 2008 at O2 World, Berlin. It would be one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in the past few years. Both men had a rightful claim to being the champion and the stakes for the future of the heavyweight division were high. Despite some questioning Vitali's decision to return after four years, he managed to regain his title in dominating fashion. Klitschko had Peter intimidated from the first round and stunned him with accurate hard punches. Klitschko kept the hard-punching Nigerian off with an effective left jab and took control in the center of the ring. Over eight rounds, Klitschko completely dismantled and outfought the younger champion. After the eighth round, Peter slumped on his stool, shook his head and asked that the bout be stopped. With the Samuel Peter victory, Klitschko technically became one of the few men to ever hold a version of the World Heavyweight Championship three times—WBO, WBC and WBC.Klitschko vs. Gómez, Arreola, Johnson
On 21 March 2009, Klitschko defeated Juan Carlos Gómez by TKO in the ninth round. Gómez tried to use his movement to thwart Vitali, but seemed unable to cope with the power and physical strength of his opponent. As the rounds progressed, Klitschko began imposing himself on Gómez more and more. Gómez soon became wary of Klitschko's power and also began to tire physically. By the sixth round, Vitali was in total control. The end came when the referee stopped the fight in the ninth round as Gómez appeared unable to withstand any more hits.On 26 September, Klitschko earned a one-sided TKO victory over Chris Arreola at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when Arreola's trainer, Henry Ramirez, asked the referee to stop the fight. Arreola was considered at the time one of the division's hardest punchers; however, Klitschko kept Arreola at bay with his left jab and hit him almost at will with his right. Arreola had been influenced by Samuel Peter's defeat to Klitschko in 2008, in which Peter had tried to box from the outside. He therefore employed a game-plan which involved applying constant pressure to Vitali in order to force him into a high tempo fight. Despite his best efforts, the bout became one sided very quickly. Klitschko consistently proved himself faster, sharper and much fitter than Arreola.
On 12 December, Vitali defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision, winning almost every round. Johnson, a skillful fighter, tried to negate Klitschko's strength with angles and head movement. Though he proved hard to hit, he failed to launch any sustained attack of his own. After the Johnson bout, Klitschko's camp began negotiations for a potential fight with former WBA Champion Nikolai Valuev, but the match failed to materialize due to economic disagreements.
Klitschko vs. Sosnowski, Briggs, Solís
On 29 May 2010, Vitali Klitschko defeated Polish heavyweight contender Albert Sosnowski by KO at 2:30 in round 10 of 12. Sosnowski was knocked down by a right hand in the 10th round, prompting referee Jay Nady to immediately wave off the fight. The fight took place at Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Vitali Klitschko weighed in at, while Sosnowski weighed in at.
This voluntary defense was Vitali's fourth defense of the WBC Heavyweight title. Sosnowski was the No. 11 ranked heavyweight according to the WBC prior to this bout.
On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Shannon Briggs on 16 October of that year. Klitschko completely dismantled his challenger with superior hand speed. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds, Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving, there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds. Klitschko had retained his belt with official scores of 120–107, 120–107, and 120–105.
During the post-fight interview, the American boxer Briggs said: "I've fought George Foreman, I've fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali's the best." While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps.
Klitschko's next fight was against mandatory challenger Odlanier Solís. The bout was tentatively scheduled for March 2011. On 11 January, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Klitschko and Solís was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March 2011. The fight lasted less than one whole round, as a right hand to Solís's temple wobbled Solís, who then twisted his knee. Klitschko won by KO. Klitschko reportedly earned $15 million for the bout.
Klitschko vs. Adamek, Chisora, Charr
Now aged 40, Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on 10 September 2011 in Poland, winning by TKO in the 10th round, in the first ever PPV fight in Polish TV history.. The referee stopped the bout after Adamek received punishing blows and was ruled out, as he was no longer able to defend himself.After turning 41 on 19 July 2012, Vitali became one of the oldest Heavyweight Champions in history. Despite having a four-year hiatus from the sport, Vitali has proven to be a remarkably effective and dominant Heavyweight Champion once again. Alongside his brother Wladimir, he also fights on for their shared ambition of holding all four Heavyweight Championship belts together, an ambition that was realised on 2 July 2011 when brother Wladimir defeated David Haye to win the WBA Heavyweight Championship.
In January 2012, he was awarded WBC Fighter of the Year for 2011. Klitschko was in negotiations for a possible bout with former WBA Heavyweight title holder David Haye on 3 March 2012.
After Wladimir Klitschko had to cancel his fight with Jean-Marc Mormeck, it was thought that Vitali was likely to fight on 25 February 2012. Sources in Germany reported that he was likely to fight British contender Dereck Chisora on 18 February 2012 in Olympiahalle, Munich, Bavaria.
It was confirmed on 12 December 2011 that Dereck Chisora would be Vitali Klitschko's next opponent. Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC Championship belt unanimously in a dominant display in Munich. The fight was fought against a backdrop of antagonism displayed by the contender Dereck Chisora at the weigh in. Chisora slapped Klitschko across the face causing a red mark to be left. The next day Chisora spat water over the face of Vitali's brother Wladimir.
Vitali won the majority of the rounds boxing a disciplined fight with changing angles and superior footwork. Chisora, constantly coming forward delivering punishing body shots, failed to wear down the older man. The scores were: 118–110, 118–110, and 119–111. The next day Vitali visited a hospital to check his shoulder, claiming he injured it in the fight. A doctor confirmed a ligament tear was suffered in his left shoulder. Klitschko said he "suddenly lost strength in the left hand" and was forced to only use his right. The injury was believed to have happened in the second or third round. Klitschko's trainer, Fritz Zdunek, believes this is the same kind of injury Vitali suffered in his fight with Byrd.
At the post-fight press conference, a brawl ensued between Haye and Chisora. After the altercation, Chisora challenged Haye to a fight in the ring and said, "I am going to shoot David Haye." Chisora was later arrested at a German airport along with his coach, Don Charles. His comments and actions were later condemned by Frank Warren, his promoter, and Wladimir Klitschko.
On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Vitali Klitschko will defend his WBC Heavyweight title on 8 September at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia. His opponent for the fight was the then undefeated future WBA heavyweight champion Manuel Charr 21–0. Klitschko won the fight via technical knockout when Charr had to be stopped due to a cut received from Vitali's punches.
Klitschko was expected to face Bermane Stiverne in a mandatory title defense, but was forced to pull out due to injury.
Retirement from boxing
On 15 December 2013, Vitali Klitschko stepped back from boxing. He was announced champion emeritus, which means that if he wants to return to boxing, he can fight the WBC Heavyweight Champion without having any fights beforehand. But, Klitschko stated "That is something I currently cannot imagine". The WBC title was vacated and later contested by Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne. Commenting on his decision, he stated "My focus is on politics in Ukraine and I feel the people there need me". He also added, "I thank the WBC and its president José Sulaimán for the support in our battle for democracy and freedom in Ukraine". Since his retirement, he has maintained a low key level of training and has been in his brother's corner for most fights, most famously when he had an altercation with Anthony Joshua after Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko.Political career (since 2005)
During the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and the following Orange Revolution, the Klitschko brothers openly supported the candidacy of Viktor Yushchenko. In 2005, Klitschko was appointed an adviser to President Yushchenko. In October 2006, he was promoted to full-time adviser.Klitschko began campaigning for Mayor of Kiev shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to Leonid Chernovetskyi but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and lead the bloc "Civic party" PORA-ROP in the simultaneously held local elections for the Kiev City Council. Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, Klitschko was elected as a people's deputy to the Kiev City Council since "Civic party" PORA-ROP won 14 seats in the 2006 election., former president of the European Peoples Party. In the May 2008 Kyiv local election, he ran again and won 18% of the vote. Klitschko simultaneously led the Vitaliy Klitschko Bloc that won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again, he was elected into the Kiev City Council. His campaign hired Rudy Giuliani as a consultant for the campaign. In 2008, he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe.
Klitschko became the leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform in April 2010. During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections, the party won representatives in municipalities and Oblast Councils.
Klitscho and UDAR became a partner of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in November 2011. UDAR is supported by the German government and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and received support in particular from Angela Merkel and also politicians from the conservative European People's Party. According to information gained by the German magazine Der Spiegel, the target was to "set up Klitschko purposefully as a new strong man in Kiev—in order to counter this way the Kremlin's growing influence". Support consisted in logistics, training and joint performances. Assistance was also promised by Christoph Heusgen, Ronald Pofalla and Guido Westerwelle.
In October 2011, Klitschko announced that he would run in the 2012 Kiev mayoral election.
During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Klitschko was elected into the Ukrainian parliament; when his party won 40 seats. Klitschko was chosen the leader of the party's faction in Parliament.
Klitschko announced on 24 October 2013 that he intended to take part in the next Ukrainian presidential election that was then set for 2015. Experts and lawyers then argued that it was unclear if Klitschko could take part in these elections. Under Ukrainian law, a presidential candidate must have had his residence in Ukraine for the past ten years prior to election day; and Klitschko had lived for many years in Ukraine and Germany, where, according to media reports, he has a residence permit. Opinion polls since early 2011 showed that the predicted percentage of votes that Klitschko would gain in the first round of the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election enlarged from 4.8% in December 2011 to 15.1% in February 2013, and an October 2013 Razumkov Centre poll predicted 19.3%.
and Ewa Kopacz, 22 March 2014
Klitschko was one of the dominant figures of the Euromaidan protests. During these protests, he retired from boxing.
Mayor of Kiev
Klitschko confirmed on 28 February 2014 that he would take part in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. But on 29 March 2014 announced that he had changed his mind and would run for the post of Mayor of Kiev in the 2014 Kiev local election set for 25 May 2014. In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election Klitschko endorsed the candidacy of Petro Poroshenko. Klitschko won Kiev's mayoral elections with almost 57% of the votes. He was sworn in as mayor on 5 June 2014. The same day the Ukrainian parliament had deprived Klitschko of his MP mandate. Poroshenko was elected President of Ukraine on 25 May 2014.Poroshenko appointed Klitschko as head of Kiev City State Administration on 25 June 2014.
Klitschko headed the election list of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc in the late October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but he vowed not to resign as Mayor of Kiev. On 21 November 2014 Klitschko gave up his seat in the new parliament. Petro Poroshenko Bloc won the election with 132 seats.
On 28 August 2015 UDAR merged into Petro Poroshenko Bloc "Solidarity". Klitschko became the new party leader.
In the 2015 Kiev mayoral election Klitschko was reelected with 66.5% of vote. For this he needed a second round of mayoral elections between him and Boryslav Bereza after incumbent Klitschko scored 40.5% of the vote and Bereza 8.8% in the first round.
Klitschko resigned as Petro Poroshenko Bloc chairman after a new law barring a head of administration to be chairman or a member of a political party took effect on 1 May 2016.
On 18 May 2019 Klitschko announced that UDAR would take part in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election autonomously. , Ukrayinska Pravda In the election the party only competed in 15 single-mandate constituencies. It failed to win any seats.
According to the Ukrainian Constitution the head of the Kiev City State Administration should resign after a new President is elected. However following the 21 April 2019 election of President Volodymyr Zelensky Klitschko was not dismissed. An 4 September 2019 decision by the Honcharuk Government to dismiss Klitschko was not executed.
Political positions
Klitschko is in favor of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. He sees the European Union as Ukraine's "model for future political and economic development." He believes former President Viktor Yanukovych and his government were "deliberately destroying the integration prospects of Ukraine" and that Ukrainian politicians have no right to let them "rule after 2014". Klitschko is also in favour of NATO-Ukraine cooperation.seen in the crowd on Khreschatyk street in Kiev, Ukraine on 27 November 2013.
Klitschko's main concern is social standards and the economy of Ukraine. He believes "the issue of language is not the top priority". Klitschko wants less corruption and more transparency in Ukrainian politics. He also advocates lower taxes to stimulate the economy. Klitschko did accuse in October 2011 President Yanukovych and the Azarov Government of "doing everything to manipulate the rules to stay in power longer"; furthermore he assert "every statement of the government" as "a continuation of lies and disinformation." He has also taken part in rallies for former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's release.
In December 2011 Klitschko described the judicial system of Ukraine as "complete degradation" and accused it of violating human rights and humiliating its prisoners. According to him Ukraine lacks independent and unbiased judges because "The Ukrainian judiciary is currently a closed clan; lifelong judges and appointments through administrative leverage". He wants to ensure the independence of judges by switching from a system of appointed judges to a system of elected judges.
In July 2012 party-leader Klitschko stated his party UDAR will not cooperate with the Party of Regions in the Ukrainian Parliament.
In early April 2013 Klitschko called for early presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine.
Klitschko is a member of the Washington, D.C.-headquartered International Republican Institute's International Advisory Council.
Personal life
Klitschko's father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko, was a Soviet Air Force major general and a Soviet military attaché in East Germany. The elder Klitschko was also one of the commanders in charge of cleaning up the effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in 1986 and was afterward diagnosed with cancer. His mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna.Mykola Chynchyn, the chairman of the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, accused Klitschko of working as a debt collector in the 1990s for mafia boss Viktor Rybalko. Klitschko has vehemently denied links to Rybalko.
Vitali Klitschko is married to Natalia Egorova, a former athlete and model. They met in Kiev and got married on 26 April 1996. They have three children, Yegor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max.
, Dortmund, 2002
In 1996, Klitschko graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports" at the "Kiev University of Physical Science and Sports" and his PhD in Sports Science was conferred.
Klitschko has lived for years in Germany. According to Klitschko "Germany adopted me, I really love Germany, but I'm not German".
Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning. 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."
Vitali and his brother also have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to supporting the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work for UNESCO.
Vitali and his brother never fought each other in a professional fight as their mother made them promise to never fight each other.
Awards
- In 2010, Klitschko was awarded the German Cross of the Order of Merit for his social and political engagement
- In 2013, Klitschko was awarded the Georgian Presidential Order of Excellence
- In 2016, Klitschko was named The Eternal World Heavyweight Champion by the WBC; the title is awarded to dominant boxers that were undefeated as champions and had plenty of successful title defenses throughout their careers
Professional boxing record
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Age | Location | Notes |
| 47 | Win | 45–2 |  Manuel Charr | TKO | 4, 2:04 | 8 Sep 2012 | 41 years, 51 days |  Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 46 | Win | 44–2 |  Dereck Chisora | UD | 12 | 18 Feb 2012 | 40 years, 214 days |  Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 45 | Win | 43–2 |  Tomasz Adamek | TKO | 10, 2:20 | 10 Sep 2011 | 40 years, 53 days | Stadion Miejski, Wrocław, Poland | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 44 | Win | 42–2 |  Odlanier Solís | KO | 1, 3:00 | 19 Mar 2011 | 39 years, 243 days | Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 43 | Win | 41–2 |  Shannon Briggs | UD | 12 | 16 Oct 2010 | 39 years, 89 days | O2 World, Hamburg, Germany | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 42 | Win | 40–2 | Albert Sosnowski | KO | 10, 2:30 | 29 May 2010 | 38 years, 314 days | Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 41 | Win | 39–2 | Kevin Johnson | UD | 12 | 12 Dec 2009 | 38 years, 146 days |  PostFinance Arena, Bern, Switzerland | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 40 | Win | 38–2 | Chris Arreola | RTD | 10, 3:00 | 26 Sep 2009 | 38 years, 69 days | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, US | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 39 | Win | 37–2 | Juan Carlos Gómez | TKO | 9, 1:49 | 21 Mar 2009 | 37 years, 245 days | Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany | Retained WBC heavyweight title |
| 38 | Win | 36–2 |  Samuel Peter | RTD | 8, 3:00 | 11 Oct 2008 | 37 years, 85 days | O2 World, Berlin, Germany | Won WBC heavyweight title |
| 37 | Win | 35–2 | Danny Williams | TKO | 8, 1:26 | 11 Dec 2004 | 33 years, 146 days | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, US | Retained WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles |
| 36 | Win | 34–2 |  Corrie Sanders | TKO | 8, 2:46 | 24 Apr 2004 | 32 years, 280 days | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, US | Won vacant WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles |
| 35 | Win | 33–2 |  Kirk Johnson | TKO | 2, 2:54 | 6 Dec 2003 | 32 years, 140 days | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US | |
| 34 | Loss | 32–2 | Lennox Lewis | TKO | 6, 3:00 | 21 Jun 2003 | 31 years, 337 days | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, US | For WBC, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles |
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Larry Donald | TKO | 10, 2:35 | 23 Nov 2002 | 31 years, 127 days | Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany | Retained WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Vaughn Bean | TKO | 11, 1:40 | 8 Feb 2002 | 30 years, 204 days | Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany | Retained WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | Ross Puritty | TKO | 11, 1:16 | 8 Dec 2001 | 30 years, 142 days | König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany | Retained WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Orlin Norris | KO | 1, 1:09 | 27 Jan 2001 | 29 years, 192 days | Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, Germany | Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Timo Hoffmann | 12 | 25 Nov 2000 | 29 years, 129 days | Preussag Arena, Hanover, Germany | Won vacant European heavyweight title | |
| 28 | Loss | 27–1 | Chris Byrd | RTD | 9, 3:00 | 1 Apr 2000 | 28 years, 256 days | Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany | Lost WBO heavyweight title |
| 27 | Win | 27–0 | Obed Sullivan | 9, 3:00 | 11 Dec 1999 | 28 years, 145 days | Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany | Retained WBO heavyweight title | |
| 26 | Win | 26–0 | Ed Mahone | TKO | 3, 1:45 | 9 Oct 1999 | 28 years, 82 days | Arena Oberhausen, Oberhausen, Germany | Retained WBO heavyweight title |
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Herbie Hide | KO | 2, 1:14 | 26 Jun 1999 | 27 years, 342 days | London Arena, London, England | Won WBO heavyweight title |
| 24 | Win | 24–0 |  Ismael Youla | TKO | 2, 1:30 | 20 Feb 1999 | 27 years, 216 days | Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany | Retained European heavyweight title |
| 23 | Win | 23–0 |  Francesco Spinelli | TKO | 1, 1:49 | 5 Dec 1998 | 27 years, 139 days |  Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine | Retained European heavyweight title |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Mario Schiesser | TKO | 2, 2:00 | 24 Oct 1998 | 27 years, 97 days | Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany | Won vacant European heavyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 |  Ricardo Kennedy | TKO | 1, 1:31 | 11 Aug 1998 | 27 years, 23 days | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, US | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | José Ribalta | TKO | 2, 2:13 | 5 Jun 1998 | 26 years, 321 days | Sporthalle Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Dicky Ryan | TKO | 5 | 2 May 1998 | 26 years, 287 days | Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Julius Francis | TKO | 2 | 18 Apr 1998 | 26 years, 273 days | Eurogress, Aachen, Germany | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Levi Billups | KO | 2 | 20 Mar 1998 | 26 years, 244 days | Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Louis Monaco | KO | 3 | 7 Mar 1998 | 26 years, 231 days | Sartory Saale, Cologne, Germany | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 |  Alben Belinski | KO | 2 | 30 Jan 1998 | 26 years, 195 days | Berdux Filmstudios, Munich, Germany | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Marcus Rhode | TKO | 2 | 17 Jan 1998 | 26 years, 182 days | Sport- und Erholungszentrum, Berlin, Germany | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Anthony Willis | KO | 5 | 20 Dec 1997 | 26 years, 154 days | Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Germany | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Herman Delgado | TKO | 3 | 29 Nov 1997 | 26 years, 133 days | Rheinstrandhalle, Karlsruhe, Germany | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Gilberto Williamson | KO | 6, 2:50 | 8 Nov 1997 | 26 years, 112 days | Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Will Hinton | KO | 2 | 4 Oct 1997 | 26 years, 77 days | Stadionsporthalle, Hanover, Germany | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jimmy Haynes | KO | 2 | 14 Jun 1997 | 25 years, 330 days | Saaltheater Hubert Geulen, Aachen, Germany | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Cleveland Woods | KO | 2, 2:16 | 10 May 1997 | 25 years, 295 days | Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Derrick Roddy | TKO | 2, 2:14 | 12 Apr 1997 | 25 years, 267 days | Eurogress, Aachen, Germany | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Calvin Jones | KO | 1, 2:58 | 8 Mar 1997 | 25 years, 232 days | Sartory Saale, Cologne, Germany | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Troy Roberts | TKO | 2, 1:14 | 22 Feb 1997 | 25 years, 218 days | Sporthalle Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Mike Acklie | KO | 1, 0:32 | 25 Jan 1997 | 25 years, 190 days | Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Germany | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Brian Sargent | TKO | 2, 1:08 | 21 Dec 1996 | 25 years, 156 days | Zoological Garden, Frankfurt, Germany | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 |  Frantisek Sumina | 1, 1:12 | 30 Nov 1996 | 25 years, 135 days |  Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt, Austria | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Tony Bradham | 2, 1:14 | 16 Nov 1996 | 25 years, 121 days | Sporthalle Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany |
Television viewership
Germany
| Date | Fight | Billing | Viewership | Network | Source |
| 1 April 2000 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Byrd | Klitschko vs. Byrd | 9,790,000 | Sat.1 | |
| 8 December 2001 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Ross Puritty | Revenge Of The Brother II | 7,390,000 | Sat.1 | |
| 23 November 2002 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Larry Donald | Klitschko vs. Donald | 10,590,000 | ZDF | |
| 11 October 2008 | Samuel Peter vs. Vitali Klitschko | Dangerzone | 9,670,000 | RTL Television | |
| 21 March 2009 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Juan Carlos Gomez | Universum Presents Boxing | 10,880,000 | RTL Television | |
| 12 December 2009 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Kevin Johnson | Klitschko Time | 11,160,000 | RTL Television | |
| 29 May 2010 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Albert Sosnowski | Fists Of Steel | 6,710,000 | RTL Television | |
| 16 October 2010 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs | Thunderstorm | 13,290,000 | RTL Television | |
| 19 March 2011 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis | Dr. Eisenfaust vs. La Sombra | 10,980,000 | RTL Television | |
| 10 September 2011 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Tomasz Adamek | Battle Of The 21st Century | 9,510,000 | RTL Television | |
| 18 February 2012 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Dereck Chisora | Showdown in Munich | 12,880,000 | RTL Television | |
| 8 September 2012 | Vitali Klitschko vs. Manuel Charr | Klitschko vs. Charr | 8,750,000 | RTL Television | |
| Total viewership | 121,600,000 |