Wladimir Klitschko

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Wladimir Klitschko
Statistics
Real name	Wladimir Klitschko
Nickname(s)	Dr. Steel Hammer
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6' 6" (199 cm)
Nationality	Ukrainian
Birth date	March 25, 1976 (1976-03-25) (age 32)
Birth place	Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	54
Wins	51
Wins by KO	45
Losses	3
Draws	0
No contests	0

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Ukraine
Men's boxing
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Super heavyweight
European Amateur Championships
Silver	1996 Vejle	Super heavyweight

Wladimir Vladimirovich Klitschko (Ukrainian: Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko; born March 25, 1976) is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko currently holds the IBF, WBO, and IBO world heavyweight titles. His elder brother, Vitali Klitschko, is the current WBC and former WBO heavyweight champion. The spelling Wladimir is a German spelling his manager adopted for him early in his career. The Ukrainian spelling of his name is Володимир, romanized as Volodymyr. The Russian spelling is Владимир, which is romanized as Vladimir.

Biography

He was born in Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR (now Kazakhstan). Though a major celebrity in his former adopted home of Germany, in 2004 he moved with his older brother Vitali to Beverly Hills. Their father, Vladimir Rodionovich, was a Soviet Air Force Colonel. Their mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna.

In the summer of 1996 Vladimir finished Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted in the postgraduate study program of the Kyiv University. On January 18, 2001 in a conference hall of Kyiv University of physical science and sports, Vladimir presented his doctorate dissertation and was awarded a Ph.D. in Sports Science.

Boxing career

Amateur career

In 1993, Klitschko won the Junior European Championships as a Heavyweight. In 1994, he received 2nd place at Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1995, he won the gold medal at the Military Championships in Ariccia, Italy, defeating Luan Krasniqi, who he had lost to in the third round of the World Championships in Berlin, Germany earlier that year. In 1996, he caputured 2nd place as a Super Heavyweight at European Championships in Vejle, Denmark.

Known as "The Steel Hammer," Klitschko first achieved world attention at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He defeated Paea Wolfgramm to win the Super-Heavyweight gold medal.

Professional career

Klitschko turned professional with Universum Box-Promotion in Hamburg, Germany under the tutelage of Fritz Sdunek. On October 14, 2000, in Cologne's Kölnarena (Germany), Klitschko won the WBO heavyweight championship from American Chris Byrd. After five successful defenses of the WBO belt, Wladimir suffered an upset 2nd round TKO loss to South African Corrie Sanders on March 8, 2003, in Hannover, Germany.

After two minor bouts in Germany, and also obtaining the services of legendary boxing trainer Emmanuel Steward, Wladimir again fought for the vacated WBO title on April 10, 2004, in Las Vegas against Lamon Brewster. Klitschko sent Brewster to the canvas in the fourth round; however, things turned around in the fifth when Brewster began landing punches. Near the end of the round, Klitschko was floored by a right hand. Barely beating the count, Klitschko fell back to the canvas looking exhausted.

On April 22, 2006, in Mannheim, Germany, Klitschko again defeated Chris Byrd, this time by technical knockout, in a contest for the IBF heavyweight championship. Referee Wayne Kelly stopped the fight in the seventh round after a knockdown. Klitschko then defeated mandatory challenger Ray Austin on March 10, 2007, at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany by a second-round knockout with four consecutive left hooks to Austin's head. Wladimir did not use his right hand once during the fight, doing all his work with his left jab and left hook. Wladimir then avenged one of his previous losses as he defeated Lamon Brewster on July 7, 2007, in Cologne. Brewster's corner asked the referee to stop the fight at the end of the sixth round. It was later revealed that Klitschko fought most of the fight with a broken middle finger on his left hand.

Klitschko defeated WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 23, 2008, to unify the IBF and WBO heavyweight titles. The Klitschko-Ibragimov fight was the first heavyweight unification since Holyfield-Lewis in 1999.

On July 12, 2008, at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, Klitschko defeated Tony Thompson by eleventh round knockout.

On December 13, 2008 Wladimir Klitschko will defend his titles against Alexander Povetkin.^[1] On October 25th, Povetkin withdrew from the fight due to an injury. It has been confirmed that Hasim Rahman is Klitschko´s next opponent.

Other interests

Klitschko appeared with Lennox Lewis in the motion picture Ocean's Eleven. He is an avid chess player, and competes in the growing sport of Chess boxing. He started and ended the televoting with his brother Vitali at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv. The Klitschko brothers have created their own design collection of men's sports and leather clothes with Hugo Boss. They have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to support the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries.

He is also a passionate golfer as seen playing in the Links Championship in Scotland. The tournament was played over three courses in 2008 including St Andrews,Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Fife.

Professional boxing record

51 Wins (45 knockouts), 3 Losses (3 knockouts), 0 Draws[2]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
	45-6-2	Hasim Rahman	???	??? (12), ???	2008-12-13	Mannheim, Germany	IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight title.
Win	31-1	Tony Thompson	KO	11 (12), 1:38	2008-07-12	Hamburg, Germany	IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight title. Klitschko was cut by a punch and Thompson by an accidental headbutt in the 2nd round. Klitschko floored Thompson with a right hand in the 11th round and Thompson didn't beat the count.
Win	22-0-1	Sultan Ibragimov	UD	12 (12), 3:00	2008-02-23	New York, United States	IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight title. First heavyweight title unification since Lewis-Holyfield II in 1999. Ibragimov appeared to be knocked down as a Klitschko combo had him held up by only the ropes but referee Wayne Kelly did not rule it a knockdown.
Win	33-3	Lamon Brewster	RTD	6 (12), 3:00	2007-07-07	Cologne, Germany	IBF, IBO heavyweight title. Klitschko dominated the fight using his strong left jab, which he followed up with strong rights to the head. Klitschko broke his left middle finger in the first round. Brewster's trainer, James (Buddy) McGirt, asked the referee to stop the fight after the sixth round.
Win	24-3-4	Ray Austin	TKO	2 (12), 1:23	2007-03-10	Mannheim, Germany	IBF, IBO heavyweight title. Klitschko made quick work of Ray Austin. In round two, Klitschko connected with several consecutive left hooks that sent Austin crashing face first to the canvas. Austin got up at the count of nine, clutching the ropes, but referee Eddie Cotton waved off the fight.
Win	29-0	Calvin Brock	TKO	7 (12), 2:10	2006-11-11	New York, United States	IBF, IBO heavyweight title. Klitschko suffered a cut over the left eye from an unintentional headbutt in the sixth round. Brock was knocked down in the seventh round, and although he barely beat the count, Referee Kelly concluded he was in no condition to continue.
Win	39-2-1	Chris Byrd	TKO	7 (12), 0:41	2006-04-22	Mannheim, Germany	IBF heavyweight title, vacant IBO heavyweight title. Byrd was knocked down by a snappy right of the fifth round. A right hand knocked Byrd down in the seventh and opened up a large cut near the eye that bled heavily. Byrd made the count but referee Kelly stepped in to stop the bout.
Win	24-0	Samuel Peter	UD	12 (12), 3:00	2005-09-24	Atlantic City, NJ, United States	NABF heavyweight title, IBF & WBO Heavyweight Title Eliminators. Klitschko down twice in 5th and once in 10th.
Win	18-0-1	Eliseo Castillo	TKO	4 (10), 2:51	2005-04-23	Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win	20-2	DaVarryl Williamson	TD	5 (10), 3:00	2004-10-02	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Fight stopped due to a Klitschko cut caused by an accidental headbutt. Klitschko down in 4th.
Loss	29-2	Lamon Brewster	TKO	5 (12), 3:00	2004-04-10	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Vacant WBO heavyweight title. Brewster down in round 4, Klitschko took a count in round 5. Byrd stops the contest at the end of the 5th. Fight was for the vacant title after the reigning champ, Corrie Sanders, had relinquished the belt in order to fight Vitali Klitschko for the WBC title.
Win	42-4	Danell Nicholson	TKO	4 (12), 3:00	2003-03-08	Hannover, Germany	WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
Win	29-2	Fabio Eduardo Moli	KO	1 (12), 1:49	2003-08-30	Munich, Germany	vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
Loss	40-2	Corrie Sanders	TKO	2 (12), 0:27	2003-03-08	Hannover, Germany	WBO Heavyweight Title. Klitschko down four times, twice in first round, and twice in round two. This fight was named The Ring magazine Upset of the Year for 2003.
Win	40-1	Jameel McCline	TKO	10 (12), 3:00	2002-12-07	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBO Heavyweight Title. McCline down in 10th. McCline corner stops the bout after 10th.
Win	39-1	Ray Mercer	TKO	6 (12), 1:08	2002-06-29	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	WBO Heavyweight Title. Mercer was knocked down in the first round by two left hooks. Mercer suffered a cut over the right eye by a lead hook in the 5th round. Referee Randy Neumann stopped the fight after a barrage of unanswered power punches in the 6th round.
Win	38-1	Francois Botha	TKO	8 (12), 0:47	2002-03-16	Stuttgart, Germany	WBO Heavyweight Title. Klitschko won every round and knocked Botha down in the 8th round with a left hook.
Win	37-1	Charles Shufford	TKO	6 (12)	2001-08-04	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBO Heavyweight Title. Shufford was knocked down three times
Win	36-1	Derrick Jefferson	TKO	2 (12)	2001-03-24	Munich, Germany	WBO Heavyweight Title. Jefferson was knocked down three times.
Win	35-1	Chris Byrd	UD	12 (12)	2000-10-14	Cologne, Germany	WBO Heavyweight Title. Byrd down in the ninth and eleventh rounds.
Win	34-1	Monte Barrett	TKO	7 (10), 2:40	2000-07-15	London, England	Barrett was knocked down once in the first round, once in the fourth round and three times in the seventh round. Klitschko was wobbled a little bit in the fourth round by Barrett's left hook.
Win	33-1	David Bostice	TKO	2 (12), 1:30	2000-04-29	New York, New York, United States	WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title. Bostice was knocked down four times - twice in the first round and twice in the second round. This was Klitschko's first appearance on HBO.
Win	32-1	Paea Wolfgramm	KO	1 (12), 1:30	2000-03-18	Hamburg, Germany	Vacant WBC International heavyweight title. Rematch of the 1996 Super Heavyweight Olympic Finals (Won by Klitschko).
Win	31-1	Lajos Eros	KO	2 (12)	1999-12-04	Hannover, Germany	EBU (European) heavyweight title. WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
Win	30-1	Phil Jackson	KO	2 (10), 1:59	1999-11-12	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	29-1	Axel Schulz	TKO	8 (12)	1999-09-25	Cologne, Germany	Vacant EBU (European) heavyweight title. WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title. Schulz down twice in the 8th round. Schulz retired for seven years after this bout.
Win	28-1	Joseph Chingangu	TKO	5 (12)	1999-07-17	Düsseldorf, Germany	Vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title. Chingangu quit on his stool after round 4.
Win	27-1	Tony LaRosa	TKO	1 (8), 2:57	1999-05-22	Budapest, Hungary
Win	26-1	Everett Martin	TKO	8 (8)	1999-04-24	Munich, Germany
Win	25-1	Zoran Vujecic	KO	1 (8), 1:02	1999-02-30	Stuttgart, Germany
Loss	24-1	Ross Puritty	TKO	11 (12)	1998-12-05	Kiev, Ukraine	WBC International heavyweight title. Wladimir Klitschko was winning the fight easily but ran out of gas. In round 10 the exhausted Klitschko was knocked down, and in round 11 Puritty kept pounding Klitschko, which caused his trainer Fritz Sdunek to jump into the ring and stop the fight.
Win	24-0	Donnell Wingfield	KO	1 (8), 1:04	1998-11-14	Munich, Germany
Win	23-0	Eli Dixon	KO	3 (10)	1998-10-03	Augsburg, Germany
Win	22-0	Steve Pannell	KO	2 (10), 0:27	1998-09-19	Oberhausen, Germany	Both Klitschko and Panell were down in the 1st round
Win	21-0	Carlos Monroe	TKO	6 (10)	1998-08-06	Marksville, Louisiana, United States	Monroe went down in round 6 from a straight right
Win	20-0	Najee Shaheed	KO	1 (12)	1998-07-10	Munich, Germany	WBC International heavyweight title
Win	19-0	Cody Koch	KO	4 (12)	1998-05-23	Offenburg, Germany	WBC International heavyweight title
Win	18-0	Everett Martin	UD	8 (8)	1998-03-14	Hamburg, Germany
Win	17-0	Marcus McIntyre	KO	3 (12)	1998-02-14	Stuttgart, Germany	vacant WBC International heavyweight title
Win	16-0	Derrick Lampkins	TKO	1 (8)	1997-12-20	Offenburg, Germany
Win	15-0	Ladislav Husarik	TKO	3 (8)	1997-12-13	Hamburg, Germany
Win	14-0	Jerry Halstead	TKO	2 (8)	1997-12-06	Offenbach, Germany
Win	13-0	Marcos Gonzalez	KO	2 (8)	1997-10-11	Cottbus, Germany
Win	12-0	James Pritchard	TKO	3 (8)	1997-09-20	Aachen, Germany
Win	11-0	Biko Botowamungu	TKO	5 (8), 2:02	1997-08-23	Stuttgart, Germany
Win	10-0	Gilberto Williamson	TKO	3 (8)	1997-07-12	Hagen, Germany
Win	9-0	Salvador Maciel	KO	1 (8)	1997-06-27	Offenburg, Germany
Win	8-0	Paul Ashley	KO	2 (8), 1:25	1997-06-13	Oberhausen, Germany
Win	7-0	Mark Wills	KO	1 (8), 2:58	1997-05-10	Frankfurt, Germany
Win	6-0	Mark Young	RTD	2 (6), 3:00	1997-04-12	Aachen, Germany
Win	5-0	Carlos Monroe	DQ	6 (6)	1997-02-15	Cottbus, Germany	Monroe was deducted a point in the 4th round for holding. He was disqualified in the 6th round for a headbutt which cut Klitschko on the left cheekbone.
Win	4-0	Troy Weida	TKO	3 (6), 0:36	1997-01-25	Stuttgart, Germany
Win	3-0	Bill Corrigan	TKO	1 (4), 1:21	1996-12-21	Frankfurt, Germany
Win	2-0	Exum Speight	TKO	2 (4), 1:54	1996-11-30	Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Win	1-0	Fabian Meza	KO	1 (4), 1:35	1996-11-16	Hamburg, Germany

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Wladimir Klitschko

• "The Official Site of Klitschko Brothers" (in German/English/Ukrainian/Russian).
• Wladimir Klitschko Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Professional boxing record for Wladimir Klitschko from Boxrec