Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko 2017
Data
Birth Name	Wladimir Wladimirowitsch Klitschko
Fight name	Dr. Steelhammer
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	Ukraine
birthday	March 25, 1976
place of birth	Semipalatinsk
style	Left delivery
size	1.98 m
Range	2.06 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	69
Victories	64
Knockout victories	53
Defeats	5
draw	0
Profile in the BoxRec database
Medal table
Olympic games 1 × 0 × 0 × European championships 0 × 1 × 0 ×
Olympic games gold Atlanta 1996 Super heavyweight European championships silver Vejle 1996 Super heavyweight

Volodymyr Wolodymyrowytsch Klytschko ( Ukrainian Володимир Володимирович Кличко ; Russian Владимир Владимирович Кличко , Vladimir Vladimirovich Klitschko; *  25. March  1976 in Semipalatinsk , Kazakhstan SSR , Soviet Union ) is a former Ukrainian boxer (1996-2017) and former world heavyweight champion on the version of the IBF , WBO , WBA and IBO . For many years he was number 1 in the heavyweight division in trade magazines and in independent rankings. He is the younger brother of Vitali Klitschko .

Life

Wladimir Klitschko was born in Semipalatinsk ( Kazakh SSR ) and the Ukrainian primary school teacher Nadezhda Ulyanovna Klitschko as the son of the Ukrainian officer of the Soviet and later the Ukrainian air force Wladimir Rodionowitsch Klitschko (* 1947 - 13 July 2011 in Kiev ) . The father rose to major general in the Ukrainian armed forces and was most recently a military attaché at the Ukrainian embassy in Germany and at NATO . His mother tongue is Russian . The paternal grandfather, Rodion Klitschko (1910–?), Was an employee of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs ( NKVD ). The paternal grandmother, Tamara Jefimovna, née Etkinson, was a village school teacher and Holocaust survivor . Her parents, a brother and her eldest son were murdered. She herself was hidden from her husband until she was liberated.

From 1980 to 1985 Klitschko's father was stationed at the Ralsko military training area in Czechoslovakia; the family lived in Hradčany . Klitschko started school at the Gagarin school in Letná , which his brother Vitali also attended.

Klitschko studied sports science and philosophy at the Hryhorij Skoworoda University of Education in Pereyaslav-Khmelnyzkyj, Ukraine . In 2001 he received his doctorate in sports science from the National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev . The topic of his dissertation was educational control in sport .

From 1996 to 1998 Klitschko was married to Alexandra Klitschko. From January 2010 to May 2011 he was in a relationship with actress Hayden Panettiere . In 2013 they renewed their liaison. In October 2013, the engagement of the two was confirmed. In December 2014, Klitschko and Panettiere became parents of a daughter. In 2018 the couple separated again.

One of Klitschko's hobbies is magic . Among other things, he did magic at Wetten, dass ..? , TV total and stars in the ring .

Amateur career

Wladimir Klitschko began his sports career at the age of 14. As an amateur he won 112 fights with only 6 defeats (according to the Boxing Digest March 1999, even 134-6 with 65 KOs). In 1993 he became European junior heavyweight champion in Thessaloniki . He finished the Junior World Championship in Istanbul in 1994 with second place, where he lost to the Cuban Michel López . During his participation in the amateur world championship in Berlin in 1995 , he failed due to a point defeat in the quarterfinals to Luan Krasniqi , but was able to defeat him a few months later in the final of the military world championship in Ariccia , Italy , and secure the gold medal there. In the 1995/1996 season he boxed ten fights in the 1st Bundesliga for BC Sparta Flensburg , on behalf of his brother Vitali, who was shown to have taken the steroid nandrolone in a doping test , all of which he won.

In 1996 Wladimir Klitschko was second at the European Championships in Vejle ; he lost in the final to the Russian Alexei Lesin . He achieved his greatest success as an amateur at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta when he became the first white man to win the gold medal in the weight class over 91 kg ( super heavyweight ). Originally, his brother Vitali was nominated in this weight class for the Olympic Games, but since he had tested positive for a steroid and was banned, Wladimir Klitschko moved up. On the way to Olympic victory, Klitschko beat the American Lawrence Clay-Bey , Attila Levin from Sweden, Alexei Lesin and in the final Paea Wolfgramm from Tonga .

Professional career

1996–2000: Entry into professional boxing

Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko were then signed by the Hamburg boxing stable Universum Box-Promotion of the promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl . Klitschko played his first professional fight on November 16, 1996. He did not quite reach the punch of his brother Vitali, but was considered the faster, more variable and technically more versatile boxer. In September 1998 he won against the completely unknown Steve Pannell by knockout in the second round, but went down in the course of this fight for the first time in his professional career; in this regard, his ability to take was discussed for the first time (see also “ Glaskinn ”).

In the first two years he played 24 professional fights. He suffered his first, surprising defeat on December 5, 1998 in the Kiev Sports Palace in his only professional match in his home country against the American Ross Puritty by a technical knockout in the eleventh round. Until shortly before the end he dominated Puritty completely, but got bad stamina problems towards the end of the fight. He was knocked to the ground in the tenth round and was then completely exhausted from the fight by his trainer Fritz Sdunek in the eleventh round. It was the first time that he was in the ring for more than eight rounds in a fight.

In September 1999 he won the European Championship with a sovereign TKO victory in the eighth round over Axel Schulz , which he resigned after only one title defense. From a later point of view, a significant victory in his development phase is the knockout victory against Monte Barrett , which was listed in the top 10 in Ring Magazine in early 2006 .

2000–2003: Fight for the WBO title

Klitschko was on October 14, 2000 by a safe points victory over southpaw Chris Byrd world champion of the WBO . However, the WBO was not yet one of the major associations at that time. Byrd had won the title a few months earlier through the injury-related abandonment of the defending champion Vitali Klitschko and due to this lucky victory was a world champion with little reputation.

In the period that followed, Klitschko's popularity rose rapidly, especially in Germany. He defended his title five times: through knockout victories against Derrick Jefferson , Charles Shufford , the well-known good taker and former WBO world champion Ray Mercer (who was already 40 years old), Jameel McCline and Francois Botha . He was in the hitherto best phase of his career and was considered the uncrowned successor to the then number one heavyweight, Lennox Lewis . During this time, Klitschko's battle name Dr. Steelhammer.

2003–2004: Klitschko in crisis

Klitschko played on March 8, 2003 in the Hanoverian Preussag-Arena against the South African Corrie Sanders and lost completely surprisingly by technical knockout in the second round. Because of his age of 37 and a knockout loss to Hasim Rahman in 2000, Sanders was actually considered a second-rate opponent. Klitschko was hit on the chin by a counterattack from the powerful southpaw in the first round and then went down four times before the fight was broken off in favor of Sanders.

After two successful development fights, Klitschko was allowed to box again on April 10, 2004 at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino against Lamon Brewster for the now vacant WBO title, which Sanders had since resigned to fight for the WBC crown against Wladimir's brother Vitali can. However, again surprisingly, he lost this fight to a technical knockout in round five. Klitschko clearly dominated the fight at the beginning. In the fourth round he also managed a knockdown, the first of Brewster's professional career. But then he had to pay tribute to his high starting pace. Aided by Klitschko's abrupt condition problems, Brewster scored several heavy impact hits in the fifth round, which initially led to a counting while standing and finally to the referee Robert Byrd breaking off the fight. According to Klitschko, physical complaints, including an increased blood sugar level , caused by the manipulation of his drinks, were responsible for the knockout. However, despite investigations by the FBI , these allegations have never been substantiated .

In the spring of 2004, Wladimir Klitschko changed coach. His new head coach was Emanuel Steward . After the contract with Universum Box-Promotion had expired, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko also parted ways with Universum and founded their own promotion company K2 Promotions . This led to a five-year legal dispute with the Hamburg boxing stable, who took the view that the duration of the contract would be extended by injury-related downtime. It was not until 2009 that the Federal Court of Justice decided in the last instance in favor of the Klitschkos.

Fight against Chris Byrd in the SAP Arena in Mannheim on April 22, 2006

2004–2007: new beginning and IBF title

The following fight against DaVarryl Williamson won Klitschko due to a so-called "technical decision". After an unintentional headbutt, the fight was stopped because of Klitschko's heavily bleeding laceration and decided on points in his favor. He went down again in this fight.

He was able to defeat the undefeated Cuban Eliseo Castillo , defeated ex-world champion Michael Moorer , in the fourth round by means of a technical knockout.

On September 24, 2005, Klitschko's meeting with the previously undefeated and highly rated Samuel Peter took place as a final for an IBF or WBO title fight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City (New Jersey). In addition, NABF boxed for the North American championship title . Wladimir Klitschko went down twice in the fifth round, caused by illegal blows to the neck of the Nigerian , which were not punished by the referee. Klitschko also fell to the ground in the tenth lap. Unlike in critical situations in the past, Klitschko caught himself against Peter every time and was declared the unanimous point winner, albeit with a loud whistle from the audience. Then he was entitled to fight again for a world heavyweight title of the IBF or WBO associations.

His world championship fight against Chris Byrd ( ranked first at Ring Magazine as the longest reigning title holder at the time) took place on April 22, 2006 in the SAP Arena in Mannheim . After a cautious start in the first round, Klitschko increasingly determined the fight and was able to achieve a knockdown in the first minute of the fifth round, but the ailing Byrd made it into the ring break. After another somewhat “quieter” sixth lap, Klitschko knocked Byrd down again at the beginning of the seventh lap. Byrd was back on his feet relatively quickly, but when referee Wayne Kelly saw the severely bleeding laceration on Byrd's left eye, he stopped the fight immediately. Klitschko was named the winner by technical knockout in the seventh round and world champion of the IBF and IBO associations.

As a result, Klitschko also moved up to first position in the ranking of the renowned Ring Magazine . On November 11, 2006, he defended his title in New York's Madison Square Garden in a voluntary title defense against the undefeated Calvin Brock , as the initially targeted Shannon Briggs boxed against the WBO title holder Sjarhej Lyachowitsch . Klitschko also won the fight against Brock by TKO in the seventh round.

The first compulsory defense of his title he completed on March 10, 2007 against Ray Austin again in the Mannheim SAP Arena. He won safely through TKO in the second round. Then Klitschko entered on July 7, 2007 in a rematch against his last conqueror Lamon Brewster . The one-sided encounter in the Kölnarena ended prematurely after the sixth round when Brewster's trainer Buddy McGirt called off the fight because his protégé had no chance.

2008–2015: title association

After his victory against Ray Austin , Wladimir Klitschko declared that he wanted to win the titles of all major boxing associations. In addition, the Ukrainian competed on February 23, 2008 in a first title unification fight against the Russian WBO world champion Sultan Ibragimow . The clash at Madison Square Garden in New York City was the first heavyweight title unification since 1999, when Lennox Lewis defeated his competitor Evander Holyfield . In the end, Klitschko won the fight, which was very defensive on both sides, on points. The highlight was some impact hits Klitschko in the ninth round, which threw the Russians into the ring rope, but did not lead to precipitation. Klitschko had boxed the entire fight in a calm, controlled and low-risk style, which earned him criticism, especially in the USA. By conquering the WBO belt for the second time in his career, Klitschko had to deny two compulsory defenses in a row: The American Tony Thompson acquired the right to a title fight of the WBO Association in July 2007 by defeating Luan Krasniqi and thus initially received the Preference over Russian Alexander Powetkin , who became the mandatory challenger for the IBF title in January 2008. Southerner Thompson had served Klitschko as a sparring partner in preparation for his fight against Corrie Sanders in 2003. Klitschko competed against Thompson on July 12, 2008 in the Hamburg Color Line Arena and won by knockout in the eleventh round. For a long time, Klitschko found it difficult to set clear hits against Thompson, who often played behind closed double cover. Both boxers suffered lacerations in their eyes at the end of the second round after a head collision. In the second half of the fight, Thompson seemed to tire more and more, and so Klitschko finally succeeded in the eleventh round with a hit with the right flapping hand of the knockout success.

In the meantime, the Klitschko brothers achieved a box-historical novelty when Vitali Klitschko won the WBC world championship title in October 2008: for the first time in the history of professional boxing, two brothers were also heavyweight champions. Wladimir Klitschko's defense of the IBF title against the Russian Olympic champion from 2004, Alexander Powetkin , was to take place on December 13, 2008 in the Mannheim SAP Arena. However, Powetkin injured his left ankle at the end of October and then canceled the fight. The fight date was retained, however, and instead the ex-world champion Hasim Rahman , placed fifth in the IBF world rankings, signed as a substitute opponent. Klitschko won the fight in Mannheim by technical knockout in the seventh round. Since the British former cruiserweight world champion David Haye announced his promotion to the heavyweight division in 2008, he tried to force a fight against the Klitschko brothers with numerous provocations and disrespectful statements. Among other things, a photomontage appeared in Men's Health magazine in which Haye held the severed head of Wladimir Klitschko. After an initially discussed fight between the Briton against Vitali Klitschko because of his impending defense against Juan Carlos Gómez did not materialize, Wladimir Klitschko agreed with Haye on a meeting in a voluntary title defense on June 20, 2009 in the Gelsenkirchen Veltins-Arena . At the following press conferences, Haye appeared to promote the fight in a T-shirt with a picture printed on it showing him with the severed heads of both Klitschko brothers. Two and a half weeks before the fight date, Haye canceled the fight. The reason he gave was a back injury. Since Klitschko and his management wanted to keep the fight date, for which around 57,000 tickets had already been sold at this point in time, a high-class substitute opponent should be signed on at short notice. Since the fight for the World Boxing Association / WBA world championship between the Russian Nikolai Valujew and the Uzbek Ruslan Chagayev , which was scheduled for May 30, 2009, had also been canceled the week before, a request was made to the management of both boxers. Valuev refused because of the short preparation time, but the unbeaten Chagayev agreed and took on Klitschko on June 20, 2009 in the Gelsenkirchen Veltins Arena, which was filled with more than 61,000 spectators. Chagayev's WBA title was not at stake in this duel, as the WBA refused to approve the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the fight against Valuev, which was still unresolved at the time. Because the roof of the stadium had to be closed at 10 p.m. due to noise protection regulations, this fight also set a record number of spectators for an indoor boxing event. It was also the largest number of spectators at a boxing match in Germany since 1939, when Max Schmeling defeated Adolf Heuser in Stuttgart in front of 70,000 spectators. Klitschko dominated the fight and beat the Uzbek Chagayev in the second round for the first time in his professional career to the ground. After many heavy impact hits in the following rounds, Chagayev's trainer Michael Timm decided to give up the fight after the ninth round. The fight against Chagayev remained Klitschko's only fight in 2009. He did not play a fight in the following nine months, this was the longest inactive period of his professional career to date. In the meantime, he agreed with the IBF Association on a further extension of the deadline for his compulsory defense against Powetkin, which should originally have taken place until September 2009, and agreed a duel with the American Eddie Chambers , who ended up with a win against Alexander Dimitrenko had qualified for a title fight of the WBO association. Chambers was Klitschko's sparring partner in 2006 in preparation for the fight against Calvin Brock . The match took place on March 20, 2010 in the Düsseldorf ESPRIT arena and was won by Wladimir Klitschko by knocking out a left hook in the last seconds of the twelfth round.

On the instructions of the IBF, Klitschko should then agree with Powetkin on a date for the long overdue compulsory defense. Another exception would only have been allowed by the IBF if Klitschko could have agreed another title association with a title holder of another large world association, since title associations are generally given higher priority. The negotiations with the new WBA title holder Haye failed in June 2010, however, and no agreement had been reached with Powetkin either, so the IBF finally put the world championship match between Klitschko and Powetkin up for auction. Klitschko's K2 Promotions secured the event rights with a bid of $ 8.3 million, while Powetkin's promoter Sauerland Event offered $ 4.3 million. Since Powetkin then did not appear at the first official press conference in Frankfurt am Main to announce the fight planned for September 11, 2010 in the Commerzbank Arena and also did not sign the fight contract in due time because of, according to Sauerland, disadvantageous contractual clauses, he was asked by Klitschko the mandatory challenger status in the IBF Association revoked. Instead, Klitschko agreed on a rematch with ex-WBC world champion Samuel Peter, who was second in the IBF rankings after Powetkin , five years after their first encounter, which Wladimir Klitschko had won on points. Klitschko won this fight by technical knockout in the tenth round. Dereck Chisora , who was relatively inexperienced with only 14 professional fights, was selected as the next opponent for a possible voluntary title defense on December 11, 2010 in the Mannheim SAP Arena . This appointment did not take place due to an abdominal muscle injury Klitschko. However, since Klitschko was contractually obliged to fight Chisora, a catch-up date was initially agreed on April 30, 2011, although Klitschko was already in new concrete negotiations with WBA title holder David Haye for a unification fight in June or July 2011. The meeting with Chisora ​​was finally canceled in March 2011 due to an unhealed shoulder injury from Klitschko.

Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko (r.) 2012 with their former world champion belts

After several unsuccessful attempts as well as provocations by Hayes, the “Showdown of the Year” 2011 between Wladimir Klitschko and the British David Haye took place on July 2nd, 2011 in the Hamburg Volksparkstadion . Klitschko won this fight unanimously on points, which means that he now held four world titles at the same time, with the IBO being among the most important with the exception of three. The fight also brought the highest ratings in Germany. On the free TV broadcaster RTL , 16 million viewers did not want to miss this fight. The Haye fight remained his only fight in 2011. It was not until eight months later that he returned to the ring for a voluntary title defense against Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck . Klitschko defeated the hopeless Mormeck, who had been world cruiserweight champion several times in the mid-2000s, on March 3, 2012 in the Düsseldorf ESPRIT arena by knockout in the fourth round. It was his 50th knockout win in the 60th professional fight. After that, another compulsory defense of the IBF title was due. Tony Thompson , who had been defeated by Klitschko in 2008, was chosen as the challenger . The fight took place on July 7, 2012 in Bern's Stade de Suisse and was won by Klitschko after knocking out rounds five and six through a technical knockout. In his third fight in 2012, Klitschko voluntarily defended his title against the previously undefeated Mariusz Wach . With the 2.02 meter Pole, Klitschko faced a physically larger opponent in the ring for the first time in his professional career. In preparation for the fight, Klitschko also had to do without his long-time trainer Emanuel Steward , who died on October 25, 2012 as a result of an intestinal disease. The new coach was the American heavyweight boxer and training partner Klitschkos Johnathon Banks . Klitschko won the fight against Wach on November 10, 2012 at O ₂ World Hamburg with a clear points win over twelve rounds. On May 25, 2013, the auction rights for the third attempt (after the failed attempts in 2008 and 2010) to defend Alexander Powetkin took place at the WBA headquarters in Panama City . A bid by Powetkin manager Vladimir Chrjunow for $ 23.3 million won against bids from Klitschko's K2 Promotions and Powetkins Promoter Sauerland Event for $ 7.13 and 6 million, respectively. According to the WBA rules, Klitschko as defending champion receives 75% and Powetkin as challenger 25% of the sum. First, however, Klitschko denied another voluntary title defense on May 4, 2013 in the Mannheim SAP Arena and won this against the Italian Francesco Pianeta after knocking out in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds by technical knockout, the sixtieth victory in his professional career.

The “Showdown of the Year” 2013 took place on October 5, 2013 between Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Powetkin in Moscow's Olimpijski Hall. Klitschko won this fight unanimously on points in twelve rounds. On April 26, 2014, he defended his title in the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen against the mandatory challenger of the WBO, Alex Leapai . He won this fight in the 5th round by knockout. His next title defense took place on November 15, 2014 in the O ₂ World Hamburg against the compulsory challenger of the IBF, Kubrat Pulew , which Klitschko also knocked out in the 5th 1st round won. In a voluntary title defense, he met the American Bryant Jennings on April 25, 2015 in New York's Madison Square Garden , which Klitschko won unanimously on points.

2015–2017: Lost World Cup fights

On November 28, 2015, there was a duel against the mandatory challenger of the WBA, Tyson Fury, in the Düsseldorf ESPRIT arena . Wladimir Klitschko had problems with the tall Brit from the start and finally lost on points by unanimous decision. With this defeat, which was surprising for many, Klitschko lost all of his four world titles after more than nine years.

A rematch against Tyson Fury was promised in the boxing ring on the evening of the defeat. Since the IBF Fury withdrew the title after the rematch was announced and this consequently became vacant, this meant that the planned rematch on October 29, 2016 in Manchester would not be boxed for all titles. After several weeks of discussion about the fight, the revenge between Fury and Klitschko should finally take place on July 9, 2016 in the Manchester Arena . Two weeks before the fight, Fury canceled the fight for the time being; he gave an ankle injury to his foot as the reason. On September 7, 2016 it was announced that the fight would now officially take place on October 29, 2016 in the Manchester Arena. A little later, on September 24, 2016, this appointment was also canceled by Fury's management. He was not ready to fight for medical reasons and injured himself again during training.

After a 17-month break, the fight against IBF World Champion Anthony Joshua , who Klitschko lost in the 11th round with a technical knockout , took place in front of 90,000 spectators at London's Wembley Stadium on April 29, 2017 . In the fifth and sixth rounds, both boxers went down after rain and had to be counted. In the eleventh round, Joshua hit Klitschko so hard that he went down twice before the referee stopped the fight. At this point Joshua was also ahead on points for two of the three judges. After the fight, Klitschko was asked about his future in boxing and allowed himself a few weeks to make a decision. On August 3, 2017, Klitschko's management announced that Wladimir Klitschko was ending his boxing career with immediate effect.

Boxing style

Wladimir Klitschko was considered one of the best heavyweight technicians. As a left wingman, he boxed Orthodox. His style was primarily characterized by a strong jab , which he knocked out as a double or individually. With quick footwork he tried to keep the distance to the opponent in order to be able to use his range. If this does not succeed, he suppressed attacks by the opponent by clasping and pressing down. As a result, Klitschko avoided getting into infight with smaller opponents, which would have been disadvantageous for a boxer with his arm's length. Due to the height of 1.98 m, Klitschko was in most cases not dependent on rapid pendulum movements with the upper body. These are important for boxers who are classified below the average size of the respective weight class, as they can avoid blows and compensate for range disadvantages. Klitschko's competition strategy was primarily designed to wear down and to strive for an early victory only when the respective opponent was overburdened or impaired by numerous hits on the leading hand.

In his professional career, Klitschko scored the most knockout victories after hits with his right cross, which was one of the hardest hits in the heavyweight division. Under the supervision of his long-time trainer Emanuel Steward , Klitschko was careful to make the most of his body size, which meant that many strokes were hit as a straight line and not as a hook. Compared to other heavyweights, he hit little on the flank. Klitschko was known to be in good physical condition on the evening of the fight. He was also said to have a good ability to anticipate .

List of professional fights

64 wins (53 knockout wins), 5 defeats , 0 draws
year	Day	place	opponent	Result for Klitschko
1996	November 16	Sports hall Hamburg , Hamburg, Germany	Fabian Meza	Victory / KO 1st round
	30th of November	Arena Nova , Wiener Neustadt, Austria	Exum Speight	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	21st December	Zoo Society House, Frankfurt am Main, Germany	Bill Corrigan	Victory / TKO 1st round
1997	January 25th	Maritim Hotelgesellschaft , Stuttgart, Germany	Troy Weida	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	February 15th	Stadthalle Cottbus , Cottbus, Germany	Carlos Monroe	Victory / Disqualification 6th round
	12. April	Eurogress Aachen , Aachen, Germany	Mark Young	Victory / abandonment 3rd round
	10th of May	Fraport Arena , Frankfurt am Main, Germany	Mark Wills	Victory / KO 1st round
	June 13th	Arena Oberhausen , Oberhausen, Germany	Paul Ashley	Victory / KO 2nd round
	June 27th	Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Germany	Salvador Maciel	Victory / KO 1st round
	July 12	Berlethalle, Hagen, Germany	Gilberto Williamson	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	August 23	Maritim Hotelgesellschaft , Stuttgart, Germany	Biko Botowamungu	Victory / TKO 5th round
	September 20th	Ice rink, Aachen, Germany	James Pritchard	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	October 11th	Stadthalle Cottbus , Cottbus, Germany	Marcos González	Victory / KO 2nd round
	6th of December	Stadthalle Offenbach , Offenbach am Main, Germany	Jerry Halstead	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	13th December	Sports hall Hamburg , Hamburg, Germany	Ladislav Husarik	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	20th of December	Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Germany	Derrick Lampkins	Victory / TKO 1st round
1998	14th of February	Maritim Hotelgesellschaft , Stuttgart, Germany	Marcus McIntyre WBC International Heavyweight Championship	Victory / KO 3rd round
	the 14th of March	Sports hall Wandsbek, Hamburg-Wandsbek, Germany	Everett Martin	Points victory (unanimous) / 8 rounds
	23. May	Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Germany	Cody Koch WBC International Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 4th round
	10th of July	Circus Krone , Munich, Germany	Najee Shaheed WBC International Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 1st round
	6th of August	Grand Casino Avoyelles, Marksville (Louisiana), USA	Carlos Monroe	Victory / TKO 6th round
	September 19th	Arena Oberhausen , Oberhausen, Germany	Steve Pannell	Victory / KO 2nd round
	October 3	Prinzgarten, Augsburg, Germany	Eli Dixon	Victory / KO 3rd round
	14th November	Circus Krone , Munich, Germany	Donnell Wingfield	Victory / KO 1st round
	December 5th	Kiev Sports Palace , Kiev, Ukraine	Ross Puritty WBC International Heavyweight Title Defense	Defeat / TKO 11th round
1999	13th February	Maritim Hotelgesellschaft , Stuttgart, Germany	Zoran Vujecic	Victory / KO 1st round
	April 23	Circus Krone , Munich, Germany	Everett Martin	Victory / TKO 8th round
	May 22	Sports Palace, Budapest, Hungary	Tony LaRosa	Victory / TKO 1st round
	17th July	Philipshalle , Düsseldorf, Germany	Joseph Chingangu WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship	Victory / TKO 5th round
	25th of September	Kölnarena , Cologne, Germany	Axel Schulz EBU European Heavyweight Championship WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 8th round
	November 12th	Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, USA	Phil Jackson	Victory / KO 2nd round
	December 4th	AWD Hall , Hanover, Germany	Lajos Erös EBU heavyweight title defense, WBA Intercontinental heavyweight title defense	Victory / KO 2nd round
2000	March 18th	Sports hall Hamburg , Hamburg, Germany	Paea Wolfgramm WBC International Heavyweight Championship	Victory / KO 1st round
	April 29	Madison Square Garden , New York City, USA	David Bostice WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	15th of July	London Arena, London, UK	Monte Barrett	Victory / TKO 7th round
	October 14th	Lanxess Arena , Cologne, Germany	Chris Byrd WBO World Heavyweight Championship	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
2001	March 24th	Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle , Munich, Germany	Derrick Jefferson WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	4th of August	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino , Las Vegas, USA	Charles Shufford WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 6th round
2002	March 16	Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle , Stuttgart, Germany	Francois Botha WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 8th round
	June 29th	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City (New Jersey), USA	Ray Mercer WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 6th round
	December 7th	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino , Las Vegas, USA	Jameel McCline WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 10th round
2003	8th of March	Preussag Arena , Hanover, Germany	Corrie Sanders WBO heavyweight title defense	Defeat / TKO 2nd round
	August 30th	Olympiahalle Munich , Munich, Germany	Fabio Eduardo Moli WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship	Victory / KO 1st round
	20th of December	Ostseehalle , Kiel, Germany	Danell Nicholson WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 4th round
2004	10th of April	Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino , Las Vegas, USA	Lamon Brewster vacant WBO world heavyweight championship	Loss / TKO 5th round
	October 2nd	Caesars Palace , Las Vegas, USA	DaVarryl Williamson	Victory / TD 5th round
2005	April 23	Westfalenhallen , Dortmund, Germany	Eliseo Castillo	Victory / TKO 4th round
	September 24th	Boardwalk Hall , Atlantic City (New Jersey), USA	Samuel Peter NABF Heavyweight Championship WBO NABO Heavyweight Championship	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
2006	April 22	SAP Arena , Mannheim, Germany	Chris Byrd IBF World Heavyweight Championship vacant IBO World Heavyweight Championship	Victory / TKO 7th round
	November 11th	Madison Square Garden , New York City, USA	Calvin Brock IBF / IBO Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 7th round
2007	March 10th	SAP Arena , Mannheim, Germany	Ray Austin IBF / IBO Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	7th of July	Lanxess Arena , Cologne, Germany	Lamon Brewster IBF / IBO Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / abandonment 6th round
2008	February 23	Madison Square Garden , New York City, USA	Sultan Ibragimow IBF / IBO / WBO Heavyweight Title Association	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
	July 12	Color Line Arena , Hamburg, Germany	Tony Thompson IBF / IBO / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / KO 11th round
	13th December	SAP Arena , Mannheim, Germany	Hasim Rahman IBF / IBO / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 7th round
2009	20th June	Veltins-Arena , Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Ruslan Chagayev IBF / IBO / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / abandonment 9th round
2010	March, 20th	ESPRIT arena , Düsseldorf, Germany	Eddie Chambers IBF / IBO / WBO Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 12th round
	September 11	Commerzbank-Arena , Frankfurt am Main, Germany	Samuel Peter IBF / IBO / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 10th round
2011	2nd July	Volksparkstadion , Hamburg, Germany	David Haye IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO Heavyweight Title Association	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
2012	3 March	ESPRIT arena , Düsseldorf, Germany	Jean-Marc Mormeck IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / KO 4th round
	7th of July	Stade de Suisse , Bern, Switzerland	Tony Thompson IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 6th round
	November 10th	O 2 World Hamburg , Hamburg, Germany	Mariusz Wach IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
2013	May 4th	SAP Arena , Mannheim, Germany	Francesco Pianeta IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 6th round
	5th October	Olimpijski Hall, Moscow, Russia	Alexander Powetkin IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
2014	26th of April	Koenig-Pilsener-Arena , Oberhausen, Germany	Alex Leapai IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / TKO 5th round
	15th of November	O 2 World Hamburg , Hamburg, Germany	Kubrat Pulew IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Victory / KO 5th round
2015	April 25	Madison Square Garden , New York City, USA	Bryant Jennings IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Points victory (unanimous) / 12 rounds
	November 28th	ESPRIT arena , Düsseldorf, Germany	Tyson Fury IBF / IBO / WBA / WBO heavyweight title defense	Loss of points (unanimously) / 12 rounds
2017	April 29	Wembley Stadium , London, UK	Anthony Joshua IBF World Heavyweight Championship vacant IBO / WBA World Heavyweight Championship	Defeat / TKO 11th round
Source: Wladimir Klitschko in the BoxRec database

Dates and achievements

Trainer:	Fritz Sdunek (1996–2004), Emanuel Steward (2004–2012), Johnathon Banks (2012–2017)
Manager:	Bernd Bonte
Consultant:	Shelly Finkel
Alias:	Dr. Steelhammer (Dr. Eisenhammer)
Weight (Ø):	111.5 kg (November 2015)
Size:	1.98 meters
Chest circumference:	1.20 meters
Upper arm:	48 cm
Forearm:	43 cm
Fist:	31 cm

Success as an amateur

• 134 wins (including 65 knockouts) - 6 defeats
• 1993: Junior European heavyweight champion ( Thessaloniki , Greece)
• 1994: Vice world champion heavyweight juniors ( Istanbul , Turkey)
• 1995: Military World Heavyweight Champion ( Ariccia , Italy)
• 1996: Vice European super heavyweight champion ( Vejle , Denmark)
• 1996: Olympic super heavyweight champion ( Atlanta , USA)

Success as a professional

• 64 wins (including 54 knockouts) - 5 defeats
• October 14, 2000: WBO world heavyweight champion (5 title defenses)
• April 22, 2006: IBF World Heavyweight Champion (19 title defenses)
• April 22, 2006: IBO world heavyweight champion (19 title defenses)
• February 23, 2008: WBO world champion (status: Superchampion ) in heavyweight (15 title defenses)
• July 2, 2011: WBA world champion (status: Superchampion ) in heavyweight (9 title defenses)

Regional titles

• February 14, 1998: WBC International Heavyweight Champion (2 title defenses)
• July 17, 1999: WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion (3 title defenses)
• September 25, 1999: EBU European heavyweight champion (1 title defense)
• March 18, 2000: WBC International Heavyweight Champion
• April 29, 2000: WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion
• August 30, 2003: WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion (1 title defense)
• September 24, 2005: North American heavyweight champion of the NABF and WBO

Others

Wladimir Klitschko chose the song Can't Stop by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the run-in music . Since November 2006, Wladimir Klitschko's fights have been broadcast exclusively on RTL TV .

Since 1996, Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali have been involved in various charity projects alongside sport . You have set up a foundation for socially disadvantaged children and started aid projects in Morocco and Brazil . They support training and educational activities for children in Africa , Asia and South America . For their commitment they have been recognized by UNESCO as “Heroes for Kids”, as role models for fairness, sporting success and education.

In the German dubbing of the Disney film Die Kühe sind los , he and his brother Vitali gave the cattle Boris and Noris their voices in 2004 . In the feature film Ocean's Eleven (2001) Klitschko had a brief appearance as an opponent of Lennox Lewis. Wladimir Klitschko played himself in the German productions Keinohrhasen (2007) and Zweiohrküken (2009). In 2009, the music video for the song Part of Me by American musician Chris Cornell appeared as a dancing cowboy.

The Klitschko brothers have been running their own marketing agency Klitschko Management Group GmbH (KMG) based in Hamburg-Ottensen since October 2007 . The agency's managing director is the long-time Klitschko manager Bernd Bönte.

In 2012, Klitschko auctioned the gold medal he had won in 1996. An unknown bidder paid $ 1 million for it. The money went to the Klitschko brothers' foundation. However, at the bidder's request, the medal remained in the possession of the Klitschko family.

The asteroid (212723) Klitschko , discovered on September 14, 2007 by the Andruschiwka Astronomical Observatory, was named in honor of him and his brother Vitali .

In 2019 it became known that Klitschko was entering the tea business as an entrepreneur.

Movie

Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali are the protagonists of a movie, Klitschko , which was released in German cinemas on June 16, 2011 in Majestic Filmverleih . In his cinema debut, director Sebastian Dehnhardt accompanied the Klitschkos over a period of two years in Germany, Ukraine, the USA, Kazakhstan, Canada, Austria and Switzerland. The film celebrated its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival .

Awards

• Bambi in the “Sport” category 2005, 2009, 2017
• GQ Men of the Year 2006 in the "Sport" category
• Felix Burda Award 2008 in the category "Stars for Prevention"
• Steiger Award 2011 in the "Sport" category
• DVD Champion 2011 - “World Award” for the film Klitschko , together with his brother Vitali
• German Television Award 2011 in the category “Best Sports Show” for RTL Boxing: Klitschko vs. Haye
• Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 "for being as one of the most dominate boxers of our time and recognized for his expertise in the ring"
• Bambini Generation Award 2013 in the “International” category from the EJAG Foundation, together with his brother Vitali
• Ukrainian Order of Freedom 2017
• Honorary award at the Hamburger Sportgala 2019

literature

• Leo G. Linder : The Klitschkos. Biography , new life, Berlin, 2013, ISBN 978-3-355-01817-3 .

Web links

Commons : Wladimir Klitschko  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Wladimir Klitschko  - in the news

• Literature by and about Wladimir Klitschko in the catalog of the German National Library
• Wladimir Klitschko in the BoxRec database
• Wladimir Klitschko in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Wladimir Klitschko in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Wladimir Klitschko official website
• Klitschko - website of the movie Klitschko

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Он был хорошим генералом и умным дипломатом ... He was a good general and a clever diplomat ... In: box.sport.ua . July 14, 2011. (Russian)
2. ↑ Klitschko and the uprising in Kiev - the oligarchs have the last word . In: Spiegel Online . December 10, 2013.
3. ↑ Short biography . In: Bunte.de . Retrieved August 3, 2017.
4. ↑ Klitschko & Panettiere - Yes, they are a couple! In: Bunte.de . January 13, 2010.
5. ↑ Kisses on the sidelines . In: Gala.de . March 26, 2013.
6. ↑ Hayden Panettiere + Wladimir Klitschko. Engagement confirmed . In: Gala.de . October 9, 2013, accessed October 9, 2013.
7. ↑ Wladimir Klitschko on Twitter : “We are overjoyed to confirm the birth of our daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko. She was born healthy on December 9th. ” December 13th, 2014.
8. ^ All about Hayden Panettiere's new beau Brian Hickerson. MSN , August 7, 2018, accessed February 3, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Björn Jensen: Klitschko's success began near Flensburg . In: Hamburger Abendblatt. November 12, 2014.
10. ↑ Boxing world champion Joshua takes third world championship belt . In: moz.de , April 1, 2018. ( Joshua's compatriot owned the belts of WBA, IBF and WBC, at that time the WBO was not yet part of the illustrious circle. It has only been there since 2007. Since then, the undisputed champion has had four titles . )
11. ↑ Bertram Job: Only the spaceship is missing from the rumor mill . In: Süddeutsche.de . May 17, 2010.
12. ↑ Andreas Evelt: Klitschko loses world title to Fury . In: Spiegel Online . November 29, 2015, accessed November 29, 2015.
13. ↑ "Vladimir will come back stronger than ever" . In: Handelsblatt.com . November 29, 2015, accessed November 30, 2015.
14. ↑ World champion Fury cancels fight against Klitschko again . In: Süddeutsche.de . September 24, 2016; accessed on September 24, 2016.
15. ↑ knockout victory! Joshua defeats Klitschko . In: Sport1.de . April 30, 2017.
16. ↑ Ko! Joshua is probably sending Klitschko into retirement . In: Spox.com . April 30, 2017.
17. ↑ Boxing legend ends at the age of 41 . In: Focus Online . August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
18. ↑ Boxing hammer: This is how Klitschko explains the end of his career . In: Sport Bild . August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
19. ↑ Decision , declaration of resignation as a video on Klitschko.com
20. ↑ Website of the Klitschko Management Group GmbH ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
21. ↑ One million dollars for Klitschko's Olympic gold ( Memento from March 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). In: Financial Times Germany . March 30, 2012, Retrieved August 7, 2012.
22. ↑ Klitschko in the Small-Body Database of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (English).
23. ↑ Why Wladimir Klitschko is now also making tea. In: gruenderszene.de. June 5, 2019, accessed June 5, 2019 . 
24. ↑ Wladimir Klitschko receives Lifetime Achievement Award . ( Memento of December 8, 2015 on the Internet Archive ) The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, accessed November 29, 2015.
25. ↑ Bambini Prize - The Prize Winners . ( Memento of the original from August 3, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: bambini-preis.de , European Young Academic Society e. V., accessed on August 3, 2017. 
26. ↑ Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 251/2017 of August 24, 2017 ; accessed on September 3, 2017 (Ukrainian)
27. ↑ https://www.sat1regional.de/ehrenpreis-fuer-wladimir-klitschko-bei-hamburger-sportgala/

predecessor	title	successor
Chris Byrd	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( WBO ) October 14, 2000 - March 8, 2003	Corrie Sanders
Chris Byrd	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( IBF ) April 22, 2006 - November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury vacant
vacant Lennox Lewis	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( IBO ) April 22, 2006 - November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury vacant
Sultan Ibragimov	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( WBO ) February 23, 2008 - November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury vacant
vacant Vitali Klitschko	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( The Ring ) June 20, 2009 - November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury vacant
vacant Lennox Lewis	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( Linear ) June 20, 2009 - November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury vacant
David Haye	Heavyweight Superchampion ( WBA ) July 2, 2011 - November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury vacant