Dr. Ironfist
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former
professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
. He serves as
mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City (), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv (), is a city official elected by popular vote who serves as a head of the Kyiv city state administration (the capital of Ukraine) and a chairperson the Kyiv City Counc ...
,Vitali Klitschko sworn in as Kyiv mayor
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(5 June 2014)
and is also head of the
Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration (, commonly abbreviated as KMDA ) is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The current Head of the Kyiv City State Administration is Vitali Klitschko; ...
, having held both offices since June 2014. Klitschko is a former leader of the
Petro Poroshenko Bloc European Solidarity (, ; , YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in various forms as a political outlet for Petro Poroshenko. The party with its the ...
, and is a former member of the
Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...
."You Scratch My Back, and I’ll Scratch Yours"
, ''
The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' (, ) is an illustrated weekly magazine and news outlet covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides a range of analysis, opinion, interviews, feature p ...
'' (26 September 2012)
Q&A:Ukrainian parliamentary election
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(23 October 2012)
Ukraine election:President Yanukovych party claims win
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(29 October 2012)
"Parties spend over Hr 600 million on elections, according to report"
, ''
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...
'' (16 November 2012)
He became actively involved in
Ukrainian politics The politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a Semi-presidential system, semi-presidential republic and a multi-party system. A Government of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers exercises executive power (jointly with the President of Ukraine ...
in 2005 and combined this with his professional boxing career until his retirement from the sport in 2013. He holds a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) in "Sports Science" from Kyiv University's Physical Science and Sports Department. As a boxer, Klitschko won multiple world
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
championships. He held the
World Boxing Organization The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
(WBO) title from 1999 to 2000, the ''
Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
'' magazine title from 2004 to 2005, and the
World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
(WBC) title twice between 2004 and 2013. Overall, he defeated 15 opponents in world heavyweight title fights, and made 12 successful title defences. In 2011, Vitali and his younger brother
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...
entered the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
as brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins (30 at the time; 40 as of 2020). From 2006 until 2015, Vitali and Wladimir (also a multiple world champion) dominated heavyweight boxing, a period widely known as the " Klitschko Era" of the division. Klitschko's last fight was in 2012, but he remained the WBC heavyweight champion at age 42 when he announced his retirement in December 2013. Klitschko formally began his political career in 2006 when he placed second in the Kyiv mayoral race. In 2010, he founded the party
Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a political party in Ukraine headed by retired2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October 2012.Parli ...
. He was a leading figure in the 2013–2014
Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...
protests, and he announced his possible candidacy for the Ukrainian presidency but later withdrew and endorsed the eventual winner
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...
. He was elected Mayor of Kyiv on 25 May 2014.Klitschko officially announced as winner of Kyiv mayor election
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(4 June 2014)
He headed the election list of the winner of the
2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an un ...
, the
Petro Poroshenko Bloc European Solidarity (, ; , YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in various forms as a political outlet for Petro Poroshenko. The party with its the ...
but gave up his parliamentary seat to stay on as mayor of Kyiv. On 28 August 2015, the UDAR party merged into Petro Poroshenko Bloc,Klitschko becomes leader of Petro Poroshenko Bloc 'Solidarity' party
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(28 August 2015)
and Klitschko became the new party leader. Klitschko was reelected as mayor on 15 November 2015.Kyiv Mayor Klitschko reelected with 66.5% of vote, 100% of ballot protocols processed – preliminary data
. En.interfax.com.ua
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(2015-11-16). Retrieved on 2015-11-29.
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 Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, the elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parli ...
autonomously. UDAR failed to win any seats. Klitschko was re-elected to a second term as mayor in the 2020 Kyiv local elections, securing 50.52% of the votes in the first round of voting and thus avoiding a run-off. Following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Klitschko has become an international symbol of Ukrainian resistance.


Kickboxing and amateur boxing career

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 (along with
judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
, sport sambo,
freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...
and classical wrestling), Klitschko took up boxing, being trained by former Soviet boxer, 1974 World Championships bronze medalist
Anatoliy Klimanov Anatoliy Klimanov (28 October 1949 – 2 March 2009) was a Ukrainian boxing, boxer. He competed in the Boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Light heavyweight, men's light heavyweight event at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Klimanov defeated Rog ...
, a head boxing coach of the CSKA Kyiv Sports Club. After the ban was lifted and Soviets assembled their kickboxing team, Klitschko was a member. He was competing in
amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...
,
kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...
, and
sport karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...
simultaneously, showing considerable success in all combat sports in which he was involved. X Summer Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR, boxing (+91 kg),
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
,
Belarus SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...
, July 1991: * 1/2: Lost to
Oleg Maskaev Oleg Alexandrovich Maskaev (; born 2 March 1969) is a Kazakhstani-born former professional boxer of Mordvinian origin, who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2006 to 2008. Throughout his career, he represented ...
(Uzbek SSR) RSC 2 WAKO European Kickboxing Championships, light contact division (+89  kg),
Varna, Bulgaria Varna (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, t ...
, November 1992: * Finals: Lost to
Pelé Reid Pelé Jerry Wabara Reid (born 11 January 1973) is a British retired heavyweight Boxing, boxer. He currently resides in Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands and is a personal trainer. He is a former World Boxing Organisation, WBO In ...
(England) KO
ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches. It is based in the United States. It was est ...
World
Super Heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and bodybuilding, competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Int ...
Championships, 1994: * Finals: Defeated Richard Vince (United Kingdom) KO 2 XVI President's Boxing Cup (+91 kg)
Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, February 1994: * 1/2: Lost to
Christophe Mendy Christophe Mendy (born 4 August 1971, in Rouen) is a retired French boxer who represented France in the heavyweight division (– 91 kg) during the 1990s. He won the bronze medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berl ...
(France) PTS VII
Boxing World Cup The Boxing World Cup is an international boxing event organized by the International Boxing Association (IBA), featuring boxers competing in different weight divisions. It was held from 1979 to 1998 as an individual competition and from 2002 to 2 ...
(+91 kg),
Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, June 1994: * 1/8: Defeated Ahn Jung-hyun (South Korea) RSCH 5 * 1/4: Lost to
Svilen Rusinov Svilen Aldinov Rusinov (; born February 29, 1964, in Teteven) is a Bulgarian boxer, who twice competed at the Summer Olympics for his native country. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division (+ 91 kg) at the Ba ...
(Bulgaria) 9–10 (5 rds) XLI World Military Boxing Championships (+91 kg),
Tunis, Tunisia Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
, 1994: * Finals: Lost to
Alexei Lezin Alexei Vladimirovich Lezin (, born February 27, 1973) is a Russian former boxing, boxer, who won the List of Olympic medalists in boxing, Super Heavyweight bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Accomplishments *1993 competed as a Heavyweight ...
(Russia) 1–10 XXIII Chemistry Cup (+91 kg), Halle, Germany, March 1995: * 1/4: Defeated Willi Fischer (Germany) 10–0 * 1/2: Defeated René Monse (Germany) 9–3 * Finals: Defeated
Georgi Kandelaki Georgi Kandelaki ( ka, გიორგი კანდელაკი; born 10 April 1974) is a Georgian former boxer and current boxing administrator. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships he ...
(Georgia) by walkover
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
(+91 kg),
Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...
, May 1995: * 1/16: Defeated Igor Kshinin (Russia) RSC 1 * 1/8: Defeated
Gytis Juškevičius Gytis Juškevičius (born 22 February 1966) is a Lithuanian boxer. He competed in the men's super heavyweight event at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially b ...
(Lithuania) RSC 2 * 1/4: Defeated
Attila Levin Attila Levin (born November 8, 1976) is a Sweden, Swedish professional boxing, boxer. Amateur career Levin had a decent amateur career prior to turning professional. *In 1996 Levin competed at the European Championships in Vejle, Denmark as a S ...
(Sweden) RET 2 * 1/2: Defeated René Monse (Germany) 6–5 * Finals: Lost to
Alexei Lezin Alexei Vladimirovich Lezin (, born February 27, 1973) is a Russian former boxing, boxer, who won the List of Olympic medalists in boxing, Super Heavyweight bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Accomplishments *1993 competed as a Heavyweight ...
(Russia) 3–12
Military World Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A ...
(+91 kg),
Ariccia, Italy Ariccia (Latin: ''Aricia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Central Italy, southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. One ...
, September 1995: * 1/8: Defeated Drago Mijić (Croatia) by walkover * 1/4: Defeated Kenneth Horsley (United States) RET 1 * 1/2: Defeated
Svilen Rusinov Svilen Aldinov Rusinov (; born February 29, 1964, in Teteven) is a Bulgarian boxer, who twice competed at the Summer Olympics for his native country. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division (+ 91 kg) at the Ba ...
(Bulgaria) RSC 1 * Finals: Defeated
Alexei Lezin Alexei Vladimirovich Lezin (, born February 27, 1973) is a Russian former boxing, boxer, who won the List of Olympic medalists in boxing, Super Heavyweight bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Accomplishments *1993 competed as a Heavyweight ...
(Russia) 9–4 WAKO European Kickboxing Championships, light contact division (+89 kg),
Kyiv, Ukraine Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, November 1995: * Finals: Lost to William van Roosmalen (Netherlands) KO Amateur boxing record: 11 wins (4 knockouts), 3 losses (0 knockouts) Kickboxing record: 34 wins (22 knockouts,) 2 losses (2 knockouts.) He was a kickboxing world champion six times (winning amateur world championships twice and professional championship tournaments four times). In 1996, he finished his amateur boxing career and turned professional, signing with the German-based Universum Box-Promotion (UBP.)


Professional boxing career

As an
amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, Klitschko won the
super-heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for t ...
championship at the first
World Military Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A ...
in Italy in 1995. In the same year he won a silver medal at the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
in Berlin, Germany, where he was defeated by Russia's
Alexei Lezin Alexei Vladimirovich Lezin (, born February 27, 1973) is a Russian former boxing, boxer, who won the List of Olympic medalists in boxing, Super Heavyweight bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Accomplishments *1993 competed as a Heavyweight ...
in the final. In his autobiography, published in Germany in 2004, the boxer revealed that he tested positive for a banned
steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...
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 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
. His brother Wladimir moved up from
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
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 A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
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 The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
title from
Herbie Hide Herbie Hide (born Herbert Okechukwu Maduagwu; 27 August 1971) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title twice between 1994 and 1999, as well as the British heavyweight title in 199 ...
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 Obed Benjamin Sullivan (born January 17, 1968) is an American former professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Fighting Marine", Sullivan was at times a highly ranked heavyweight who fought many significant fighters of his era. Sullivan turned pro in 1 ...
, who retired after the ninth round.


Title loss to Byrd

By April 2000 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 Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over ...
, 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 A submission, also called a "tap out" is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, resulting in an immediate defeat. A submission is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or opponent with the hand or foot, or by verbalizing to the o ...
, 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 The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...
, 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 Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...
.


Klitschko vs. 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 Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2002. Amateur career Johnson represented Canada at the 1992 Olympics in Bar ...
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 The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...
'' 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 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 (4 rounds to 2) at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis, Lewis won by technical
knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
. Negotiations for a 6 December rematch began. After negotiations collapsed, Klitschko 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 Klitschko. Shortly thereafter, Lewis announced his retirement and vacated the title. For years after this fight, Klitschko would occasionally call out Lewis for a rematch, despite the latter having retired in early 2004. Around this time the Klitschko brothers moved from
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, 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 Cornelius Johannes Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was ...
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 (TKO) on 8 March 2003. Klitschko took a heavy shot in round one by Sanders and was 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. Klitschko 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 Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...
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 Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
, whom he supported on 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 Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified World Boxing Council, WBC, International Boxing Federation, ...
; however, nine days before the fight, he injured his leg while sparring. He snapped his
anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...
, 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 In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight (in a mandatory defence) or be forced to vacate their title as champion. The opposite of a mandatory defence is a ''volunt ...
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 Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held multiple heavyweight championships, ...
(who had lost a decision to Wladimir in 2005). 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 Klitschko's decision to return after almost 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 title three times—WBO (1999–2000), WBC (2004–2005) and WBC (2008–2013).


Klitschko vs. Gómez, Arreola, Johnson

On 21 March 2009, Klitschko defeated
Juan Carlos Gómez Juan Carlos Gómez (born 26 July 1973) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 1998 to 2002, and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2009. Amateur career *Ama ...
by TKO in the ninth round. Gómez tried to use his movement to thwart Klitschko 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, Klitschko 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 Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweigh ...
at the
Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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 Klitschko 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, Klitschko 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 Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev ( rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the World Boxing ...
, but the match failed to materialize due to economic disagreements.


Klitschko vs. Sosnowski, Briggs, Solís

On 29 May 2010, Klitschko defeated
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
heavyweight contender
Albert Sosnowski Albert Dariusz Sosnowski (born 7 March 1979) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2017. He held the European heavyweight title in 2009 and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2010. Professional career Sos ...
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 Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof and pitch, football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for FC S ...
,
Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...
,
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
, Germany. Klitschko weighed in at , while Sosnowski weighed in at . This voluntary defense was Klitschko'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 Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1992 and 2016. He held the lineal heavyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2006 to 2 ...
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 Odlanier Solís Fonte (born 5 April 1980) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2016. He challenged once for the World Boxing Council, WBC heavyweight title in 2011. As an Amateur boxing, amateur, he won a gold medal ...
. The
bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrume ...
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 Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, 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 Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek (; born 1 December 1976) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007, and the IBF a ...
on 10 September 2011 in Poland, winning by TKO in the 10th round, in the first ever PPV fight in
Polish TV Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network. After 2015, when the right-wing populist Law and Justic ...
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, Klitschko became one of the oldest heavyweight champions in history. Despite having a four-year hiatus from the sport, Klitschko had 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 titles together, an ambition that was realised on 2 July 2011 when brother Wladimir defeated
David Haye David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amat ...
to win the WBA heavyweight title. 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 Jean-Marc Gilbert Mormeck (born 3 June 1972) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He is a two-time unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC and ''The Ring'' world titles twice between 20 ...
, 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
Derek Chisora Derek Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a Zimbabwean-British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the Britis ...
on 18 February 2012 in
Olympiahalle The Olympiahalle ''(English: Olympic Hall)'' is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Munich, Germany. It is part of Olympiapark and is used for concerts, sporting events, exhibitions and trade fairs. The official seating capacity varies from some 12 ...
,
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. It was confirmed on 12 December 2011 that Derek Chisora would be Klitschko's next opponent. Klitschko retained his WBC title unanimously in a dominant display in Munich. The fight was fought against a backdrop of antagonism displayed by 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 Klitschko 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 Sdunek, believes this is the same kind of injury Klitschko 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 would defend his WBC heavyweight title on 8 September at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia. His opponent for the fight was undefeated future WBA heavyweight champion
Manuel Charr Mahmoud Charr (), previously known as Manuel Charr, is a Syrian-German professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title ( Regular version) twice between 2017 and 2024. Early life Charr, son of a Syrian father an ...
21–0 (11 KO). Klitschko won the fight via technical knockout when Charr had to be stopped due to a cut received from Klitschko's punches. Klitschko was expected to face
Bermane Stiverne Bermane Stiverne (born November 1, 1978) is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2014 to 2015. Amateur career Stiverne started boxing at the age of 19. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the super ...
in a mandatory title defense but was forced to pull out due to injury.


Retirement from boxing

On 15 December 2013, 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 (right after his retirement from boxing), Klitschko stated "That is something I currently cannot imagine".Vitali Kleetcho: Heavyweight champion swaps boxing for politics
,
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...
(67 December 2013)
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 José Sulaimán Chagnón (May 30, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Mexican boxing official, best known for serving as president of the World Boxing Council (WBC) from 1975 until his death in 2014. During his nearly four decades at the helm, Sul ...
for the support in our battle for democracy and freedom in Ukraine". Since his retirement, he has maintained a limited level of training and has been in his brother's corner for most fights, most famously when he had an altercation with
Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He held the unified champion, unified world heavyweight championship twice between 2016 and 2021. At regional level, he held the British Boxing Board of C ...
after Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko.


Political career


Early years in politics

During the
2004 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November, 26 December 2004 and 1 January 2005. This was the fourth Ukrainian presidential elections, presidential election in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The ...
and the following
Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...
, the
Klitschko brothers Vitali Klitschko (born 19 July 1971) and Wladimir Klitschko (born 25 March 1976), known as the Klitschko Brothers, are Ukrainian former professional boxers. During their peak years between 2004 and 2015, they were considered the dominant world he ...
openly supported the candidacy of
Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
.Short bio
, LIGA
In 2005, Vitali Klitschko was appointed an adviser to
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Yushchenko. In October 2006, he was promoted to full-time adviser. Klitschko began campaigning for
Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City (), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv (), is a city official elected by popular vote who serves as a head of the Kyiv city state administration (the capital of Ukraine) and a chairperson the Kyiv City Counc ...
shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to
Leonid Chernovetskyi Leonid Mykhaylovych Chernovetskyi (; born 25 November 1951) is a former Mayor of Kyiv, the capital (city), capital of Ukraine, from 2006 until the summer of 2012. He was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex ...
but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent
Oleksandr Omelchenko Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Omelchenko (; 9 August 1938 – 25 November 2021) was a Ukrainian politician. He served as the Mayor of Kyiv from 1999 to 2006. Omelchenko was also a People's Deputy of Ukraine from 2007 to 2012. Omelchenko was the P ...
Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and lead the
bloc Bloc may refer to: Government and politics * Political bloc, a coalition of political parties * Trade bloc, a type of intergovernmental agreement * Voting bloc, a group of voters voting together * Black bloc, a tactic used by protesters who wear ...
"Civic party" PORA-ROP (the parties
PORA Pora! (), meaning ''"It's time!"'' in Ukrainian, is a civic youth organization (Black Pora!) and political party in Ukraine ( Yellow Pora!) espousing nonviolent resistance and advocating increased national democracy. The group was established ...
and
Reforms and Order Party Party Reform and Order () was a liberal political party in Ukraine.
) in the simultaneously held local elections for the
Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council (, ), also known as Kyivrada (), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kyivans and the council is chaired by the M ...
.Каськів вирішив, що Кличко одноразовий
by
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(17 April 2006)
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 Kyiv City Council since "Civic party" PORA-ROP won 14 seats in the 2006 election. In the May 2008 Kyiv local election, he ran again and won 18% of the vote. Klitschko simultaneously led the Vitali Klitschko Bloc that won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again, he was elected into the Kyiv City Council. His campaign hired
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...
as a consultant for the campaign. In 2008, he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the
Congress of the Council of Europe The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, imp ...
. Klitschko became the leader of the political party
Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a political party in Ukraine headed by retired2010 Ukrainian local elections The 2010 Ukrainian local elections took place on 31 October 2010,
, the party won representatives in (Ukrainian) municipalities and Oblast Councils (regional parliaments). Klitschko 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 The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...
and received support in particular from
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
and also politicians from the conservative
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
. According to information gained by the German magazine ''Der Spiegel'', the target was to "set up Klitschko purposefully as a new strong man in Kyiv—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 Ronald Pofalla (born 15 May 1959) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as the Chief of Staff of the German Chancellery and a Federal Minister for Special Affairs from 2009 to 2013, in the second c ...
and
Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as foreign minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay perso ...
. In October 2011, Klitschko announced that he would run in the 2012 Kyiv mayoral election. During the
2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October 2012.Parli ...
, Klitschko was elected (he was top candidate on UDAR's party list) into the
Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...
; UDAR won 13.97% of the popular vote and 34 seats under the nationwide proportional party-list system, finishing third behind the
Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
and
Fatherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...
, and another 6 seats in constituencies, thus a total of 40 seats. Support for UDAR was the least diversified at the regional level compared with the results of the other leading parties.After the parliamentary elections in Ukraine: a tough victory for the Party of Regions
,
Centre for Eastern Studies The Centre for Eastern Studies (, OSW) is a Warsaw-based think tank that undertakes independent research on the political, economic and social situation in Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia. The centre was founded i ...
(7 November 2012)
Klitschko was chosen as 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.Vitali Klitschko says intends to run for president in Ukraine
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(24 October 2013)
Parliament passes law that could prevent Klitschko from running for president
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(24 October 2013)
That same day, the parliament voted for a bill adopting two amendments to the Tax Code, according to which a person who has
permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...
in a foreign state is considered to be a person who does not live in Ukraine; the law also had a provision according to which only a person "permanently residing in Ukraine for ten years" can run for the president. 239 deputies voted for the bill, mostly from the
Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
and the Communist Party. Experts and lawyers then argued that it was unclear if Klitschko could take part in these elections as, according to media reports, he had a residence permit in Germany. 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 Razumkov Centre (), or fully the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Olexander Razumkov (), is a Ukrainian non-governmental public policy think tank. Overview The Razumkov Center carries out research in domestic, econ ...
poll predicted 19.3%. According to all opinion polls but two conducted from January to November 2013 by the
Razumkov Centre Razumkov Centre (), or fully the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Olexander Razumkov (), is a Ukrainian non-governmental public policy think tank. Overview The Razumkov Center carries out research in domestic, econ ...
, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), SOCIS,
Rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
,
International Republican Institute The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and funded and supported by the United States federal government. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. Its public mission is to a ...
and the Democratic Initiatives,
Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...
and Klitschko were most likely to go into the second round. For the second round, all opinion polls conducted by same agencies during the same period of time had Vitali winning the potential run-off against Yanukovych, predicting Vitali to earn from 58% to 64%. Klitschko was one of the dominant figures of the
Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...
protests. During these protests, he retired from boxing.


Political views (until 2013)

Klitschko is in favor of the
Association Agreement A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU, or its predecessors), its Member States and a non-EU country or bloc of countries that governs bilateral relations. Areas fre ...
between Ukraine and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.Klitschko says he responsibly considers possibility of running for president
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(21 August 2013)
He sees the European Union as Ukraine's "model for kraine'sfuture political and economic development." He believes former
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...
and his
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
were "deliberately destroying the integration (into Europe) prospects of Ukraine" and that Ukrainian politicians have no right to let them "rule after
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
". Klitschko is also in favour of NATO-Ukraine cooperation. Klitschko's main concern is social standards and the
economy of Ukraine An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...
.In Pursuit of the Presidency
,
The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' (, ) is an illustrated weekly magazine and news outlet covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides a range of analysis, opinion, interviews, feature p ...
(8 July 2013)
He believes " the issue of language is not the top priority". Klitschko wants less
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
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";Klitschko meets with McCain to discuss deterioration of democracy in Ukraine
, ''
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...
'' (12 October 2011)
furthermore (in December 2011) he assert(ed) "every statement of the government" as "a continuation of lies and disinformation."Кличко зрозумів, що Янукович зневажає історію
,
Ukrainian Independent Information Agency The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most visited n ...
(30 December 2011)
He has also taken part in rallies for former Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...
's release. In December 2011, Klitschko described the
judicial system of Ukraine The judicial system of Ukraine is outlined in the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine.human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and humiliating its
prisoners A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a sentence in priso ...
. According to him, Ukraine lacks independent and unbiased judges because the "Ukrainian judiciary is currently a closed system with lifelong judges and appointments made 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, Klitschko stated that
UDAR The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine headed by retired
would not cooperate with the
Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian Parliament. In early April 2013 Klitschko called for early Presidential elections in Ukraine, presidential and Parliamentary elections in Ukraine, parliamentary elections in Ukraine.


Mayor of Kyiv

On 28 February 2014, Klitschko confirmed that he would take part in the (early) 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. On 29 March, he announced that he had changed his mind and would run for the post of
Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City (), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv (), is a city official elected by popular vote who serves as a head of the Kyiv city state administration (the capital of Ukraine) and a chairperson the Kyiv City Counc ...
in the 2014 Kyiv local election (including Mayoral elections) set for 25 May.Parliament sets elections for Kyiv mayor and Kyiv City Council deputies for May 25
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(25 February 2014)
In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election Klitschko endorsed the candidacy of
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...
. Klitschko won Kyiv's mayoral elections with almost 57% of the votes in the first round. He was sworn in as mayor on 5 June 2014. The same day the Ukrainian parliament had deprived Klitschko of his MP mandate (Ukrainian MPs are not entitled to combine parliamentary activities with any other public employment).Klitschko becomes Kyiv Mayor officially
, Ukrinform (5 June 2014)
Klitschko was deprived of parliamentary mandate
, NovostiMira (5 June 2014)
Poroshenko was elected President of Ukraine on 25 May 2014. In addition to mayoral elections, UDAR participated in the 2014 Kyiv local election. It won 30 seats in the party-list ballot (40.54% of votes) and 42 seats in constituencies, overall gaining 77 seats in the
Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council (, ), also known as Kyivrada (), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kyivans and the council is chaired by the M ...
out of 120.UDAR has 75% of the constituencies in Kyivrada
''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
'' (3 June 2014)
60% of the new Kyivrada is filled by UDAR
''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
'' (4 June 2014)
In the capital, the official election results Kyivrada published
BBC Ukrainian (4 June 2014)
This was the last time that half of the Kyiv City Council seats were elected in constituencies. Poroshenko appointed Klitschko as head of
Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration (, commonly abbreviated as KMDA ) is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The current Head of the Kyiv City State Administration is Vitali Klitschko; ...
on 25 June 2014.Poroshenko appoints Klitschko head of Kyiv city administration – decree
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(25 June 2014)
Poroshenko orders Klitschko to bring title of best European capital back to Kyiv
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(25 June 2014)
Klitschko headed the election list of the
Petro Poroshenko Bloc European Solidarity (, ; , YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in various forms as a political outlet for Petro Poroshenko. The party with its the ...
in the late October
2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an un ...
, but he vowed not to resign as Mayor of Kyiv.Pilots, combat, and journalists. Who goes to the new Verkhovna Rada
, Korrespondent.net (September 15, 2014)
Klitschko: I lead my team to Parliament
,
UDAR The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine headed by retired
official website (14.09.2014)
Deadline for nomination of candidates running in early election to Rada expires
, ITAR-TASS (September 15, 2014)
On 21 November 2014 Klitschko gave up his seat in the new parliament.Klitschko gives up seat in parliament
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(21 November 2014)
Petro Poroshenko Bloc won the election with 132 seats out of 423 available.Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament
, Ukrinform (8 November 2014)
People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections – CEC
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(8 November 2014)
Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament – CEC
,
Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...
(8 November 2014)
On 28 August 2015, UDAR merged into European Solidarity, Petro Poroshenko Bloc "Solidarity". Klitschko became the new party leader. In the 2015 Kyiv local election, 2015 Kyiv 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 Klitschko scored 40.5% of the vote and Bereza 8.8% in the first round. (Bereza gained 33.51% of the vote in the second round of Mayoral elections.) Petro Poroshenko Bloc gained 52 seats in the Kyiv City Council with 27.56% of votes. On 26 May 2016, 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. On 18 May 2019, Klitschko announced that UDAR would take part in the
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, the elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parli ...
autonomously.Klitschko said that UDAR will go to the polls
,
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(May 18, 2019)
In the election the party only competed in 15 single-mandate constituencies.Vitali Klitschko: I want to warn the new president from the steps that Yanukovych did in the capital
, Glavcom (22 June 2019)
It failed to win any seats.CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections
, Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019
,
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(21 July 2019)
According to the Ukrainian Constitution the head of the Kyiv City State Administration should resign after a Ukrainian presidential elections, new President is elected.City Champion. How Klitschko kept Kyiv
,
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(30 January 2020)
However, following the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, 21 April 2019 election which was won by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Klitschko was not dismissed. A 4 September 2019 decision by the Honcharuk Government to dismiss Klitschko was not executed. In the election for Mayor of Kyiv of the 2020 Kyiv local elections, Klitschko was again a candidate, nominated by UDAR. He was also endorsed by Petro Poroshenko's party, now named European Solidarity.Klitschko reacted to support from Poroshenko's party: We are not bargaining
,
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(16 September 2020)
"Eurosolidarity" will support Klitschko in the elections in Kyiv
,
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
(16 September 2020)
He won the election in the first round with 50.52% of the votes, 365,161 people voted for him.Vitali Klitschko wins in first round of Kyiv mayor election
, Ukrinform (6 November 2020)
UDAR won 30
Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council (, ), also known as Kyivrada (), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kyivans and the council is chaired by the M ...
seats out of 120 in the 2020 Kyiv local election with 19.98% of votes, finishing second behind European Solidarity (20.52% of votes; 31 seats). As of 23 June 2024, Klitschko is the longest-serving Mayor of Kyiv since Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, having served for over 10 years, and the only person to have won three direct democratic Kyiv mayoral elections. Klitschko is a member of the Washington, D.C.-headquartered
International Republican Institute The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and funded and supported by the United States federal government. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. Its public mission is to a ...
's International Advisory Council.


Russian invasion of Ukraine

In February 2022, Klitschko and his brother
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...
pledged to take up arms to protect the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, in response to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began on 24 February. On 25 February, Klitschko posted a video on his Telegram (software), Telegram channel to report on casualties in the capital city, stating, "The night was difficult, but there are no Russian troops in the capital. The enemy is trying to break into the city, in particular, from [the direction of] Hostomel, Zhytomyr." On 11 March Klitschko made a guest appearance on CNN's ''State of the Union (American TV program), State of the Union''. On 15 March, Klitschko announced a 36-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid what he called a difficult and dangerous moment, stating, "I ask all Kyivites to get prepared to stay at home for two days, or if the sirens go off, in the shelters," About half of Kyiv's 3.4 million residents had fled. On 23 March, Klitschko and his brother reported from a bandstand in a park victories around Kyiv: Ukrainian forces had taken back most of Irpin (east of Kyiv), all of Makariv (west of Kyiv) and were battling for the village of Liutizh, 20 miles to the north. By 31 March, Russian forces had withdrawn from Kyiv. On 10 March 2022, Vitali and Wladimir announced via Telegram that they had raised €100 million of financial support for Ukraine with a fundraising campaign in Germany. On 6 May, Klitschko warned that there was a high probability of rocket fire across Ukraine in the coming days. There were no plans for a curfew but street patrols would be reinforced. On 23 May, Klitschko and Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba were in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting. Klitschko and his brother spoke at length to an audience the same day. They told delegates to back Ukraine despite the economic pain, and that "we are defending you". They later said in an interview with Sky News, that the "biggest mistake" their audience could make was to think that the "Ukraine war doesn't affect everyone." On 18 June, Klitschko said that Vladimir Putin was destroying millions of lives in both Ukraine and Russia, adding that Russian soldiers are dying for nothing more than Putin's ambitions. At the end of June, the Klitschko brothers attended, along with a large delegation of Ukrainians, the 2022 NATO Madrid summit. On 23 July 2022, ''The Times'' posted an article in which it alleged that Vitali and Wladimir were on Vladimir Putin's personal Contract killing, hitlist of 24 high-profile Ukrainian figures whom he wanted assassinated. In a December 2023 interview with ''Der Spiegel'', Klitschko accused President Zelenskyy of authoritarianism due to the president's use of powers under martial law. Of the president, Klitschko said, "At some point we will no longer be any different from Russia, where everything depends on the whim of one man."


Sporting legacy

Having never been knocked down, Vitali Klitschko is widely regarded as the tougher fighter of the two brothers. His 87% knockout percentage is regarded as one of the best knockout-to-fight ratios of any champion in heavyweight boxing history. Vitali was also known for being unusually dominant in his fights, having rarely lost a round in his professional career as a boxer. During his time as WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko was described as being the best of his time, and George Foreman stated that he has the best straight left in the division. Both Klitschko brothers are considered the best heavyweight boxers of their era. Having remained undefeated for a large majority of their careers and refusing to fight each other, both brothers remained largely unchallenged throughout their careers. Notably, both brothers were particularly well known for using their large size to nullify other heavyweights. In 2011, Wladimir and Vitali entered the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
book as the pair of brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins (30 at the time; 40 as of 2020). Considered national heroes in Ukraine, in 2008 the Klitschko brothers were voted the The Greatest Ukrainians, 15th greatest Ukrainians of all time following a nation-wide poll that saw around 2.5 million people casting their votes. Boxing fights involving one of the Klitschko brothers attracted between 10 and 20 million viewers in Ukraine; some of their fights generated even bigger viewership numbers. Vitali has been named multiple times among the 100 most influential people in Ukraine by Korrespondent: he was ranked 60th in 2006, 44th in 2010, 41st in 2011, 16th in 2012, 10th in 2013, 23rd in 2017 and 28th in 2019 (the ranking wasn't conducted between 2014 and 2016). The Klitschkos were also considered big stars in Sport in Germany#Boxing, Germany. A survey carried out by Kantar TNS, TNS for the Horizont Sport Business in 2003 showed that 90.9% of respondents recognized Vitali while 70.7% celebrated his successes, making him the sixth most recognized and second most beloved athlete in Germany at the time. According to Deutsche Welle, DW, another research conducted no later than 2011 showed that nearly 99% of people in Germany recognized the Klitschko brothers. The CPI Index conducted by the agency Celebrity Performance in 2012 had the Klitschkos ranked second on the list of the most marketable celebrities in Germany, while in January 2014, based on a survey of 1151 respondents that was conducted by the same agency, the Klitschko brothers were ranked 6th in the "2013 Person of the Year" category. At least nine of Vitali's fights generated above 9 million average viewers. The Rammstein song Sonne (Rammstein song), Sonne was written as his entrance song. Throughout his career, Vitali has defeated World heavyweight boxing championship records and statistics, 15 boxers for the world heavyweight title, the fifth-most in history (tied with
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...
), including two –
Corrie Sanders Cornelius Johannes Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was ...
and Danny Williams – for ''
The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...
'' world heavyweight championship. Klitschko is World heavyweight boxing championship records and statistics, one of nine boxers to defeat at least ten different fighters for the world heavyweight title. As of April 2025, BoxRec ranks Klitschko among the 100 greatest boxers of all time, pound for pound. He is the only heavyweight boxer to have reigned as world champion in three different decades. Klitschko and George Foreman are the only heavyweight boxers in history to defend a world title after turning 40. According to BoxRec, Vitali has defeated 7 previously undefeated fighters with a combined record 135–0–3 (95 KOs) – these 7 included Alben Belinski (professional record 5–0, 5 KOs coming into the fight), Ed Mahone (21–0–2, 21 KOs), Timo Hoffmann (22–0, 13 KOs),
Chris Arreola Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweigh ...
(27–0, 24 KOs), Kevin Johnson (22–0–1, 9 KOs), Odlanier Solis (17–0, 12 KOs) and
Manuel Charr Mahmoud Charr (), previously known as Manuel Charr, is a Syrian-German professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title ( Regular version) twice between 2017 and 2024. Early life Charr, son of a Syrian father an ...
(21–0, 11 KOs). Vitali has defeated 7 current or former world champions throughout his career. Those included heavyweight champions
Corrie Sanders Cornelius Johannes Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was ...
,
Shannon Briggs Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1992 and 2016. He held the lineal heavyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2006 to 2 ...
and
Samuel Peter Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held multiple heavyweight championships, ...
, two-weight world champion
Tomasz Adamek Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek (; born 1 December 1976) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007, and the IBF a ...
, and cruiserweight champions Juan Carlos Gomez and Orlin Norris. At the end of 2004, Vitali was honoured with the Hero of Ukraine Order of State, the highest Ukrainian honour, for his achievements and contributions to the development of Ukrainian sports. In 2010, Vitali was awarded the German Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Cross of the Order of Merit, the highest German honour, for his social and political engagement. In 2013, Klitschko was awarded the Georgia (country), Georgian Presidential Order of Excellence. In 2018, Vitali was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was elected in his first year of eligibility. Known for charity work and philanthropy, both Vitali and Wladimir are among only 15 current or former alive athletes that have been named UNESCO Champion for Sport, UNESCO Champions for Sport.


Personal life

Klitschko's father, Volodymyr Rodionovych Klitschko (1947–2011), was a Soviet Air Force major general and a Soviet military attaché in East Germany. Volodymyr's mother was Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish. Part of Vitali's family died during Holodomor, while his great-grandfather and family members on the female line of his mother died in the Holocaust. The Klitschko brothers lived as children in Czechoslovakia from 1980 to 1985, where their father was stationed with the Central Group of Forces, Soviet Forces. They attended a school designated for children of Soviet soldiers in the town of Mimoň in Northern Bohemia. The Klitschko brothers lived in Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR from 1985 to 1986, when the town was evacuated following the Chernobyl disaster, Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The elder Klitschko was also one of the commanders in charge of cleaning up the effects of the Chernobyl disaster, Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and was afterward diagnosed with cancer. He also served as a military attache at the embassy of Ukraine in Germany. His mother is Nadiya Ulyanivna. Klitschko worked at Kyiv Automation Plant as a toolmaker as a young man. In December 2013, Mykola Chynchyn, the chairman of the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine during the presidency of
Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...
, accused Klitschko of having worked as a debt collector in the 1990s for Boss (crime), mafia boss Viktor Rybalko.A Fight without Rules: Boxer Vitali Klitschko Enters Ukraine's Political Arena
, ''Der Spiegel'' (29 June 2012)
Klitschko has vehemently denied links to Rybalko.Ukraine's point of no return
, openDemocracy.net (29 December 2013)
Klitschko and Natalija Jehorova, a former athlete and model, married on 26 April 1996. They have three children. On 15 August 2022, Vitali announced that he and Natalija were divorcing. In 1996, Klitschko graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports" at the "Kyiv University of Physical Science and Sports" and his PhD in Sports Science was conferred. In addition to residing in Kyiv, Klitschko has lived for years in Germany. According to Klitschko "Germany adopted me, I really love Germany, but I'm not German". Both Klitschko and his brother Wladimir Klitschko, Wladimir are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning. Klitschko 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." Both Klitschko brothers 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. Klitschko is fluent in four languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English and German.


Awards and honors

* In 2010, Klitschko was awarded the German Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Cross of the Order of Merit for his social and political engagement *In 2013, Klitschko was awarded the Georgia (country), 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 * In 2022, Klitschko was named an honorary member of the European Committee of the Regions * In 2022, Klitschko was named winner of ESPY's Arthur Ashe Award For Courage


Professional boxing record


Titles in boxing


Major world titles

* list of WBC world champions#Heavyweight, WBC heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) (2×) * list of WBO world champions#Heavyweight, WBO heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)


''The Ring'' magazine titles

* list of The Ring world champions#Heavyweight, ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)


Regional/International titles

* WBA Inter-Continental
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
champion (200+ lbs) *
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
Inter-Continental heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) * list of European Boxing Union champions#Heavyweight, European heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) (2×)


Honorary titles

* World Boxing Council#Eternal Championship, WBC Eternal Champion * WBC Emeritus, WBC Emeritus Champion


Professional kickboxing record

, - style="background:#cfc;" , 1993-11-27, , Win , , align=left, Ryūshi Yanagisawa , , AJKF "Evolution Step 8"Vitaly Klitschko vs Ryūshi Yanagisawa
. YouTube. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
, , Tokyo, Japan , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 5 , , 2:00 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 1992-09-06, , Win , , align=left, Brad Hefton , , ISKA USA Vs. The World, , Las Vegas, Nevada, USA , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 12 , , 2:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':


Viewership


Germany


Ukraine


Russia


United States


Premium television


Pay-per-view bouts


Poland


Free-to-air television


Pay-per-view bouts


See also

*List of The Ring world champions, List of ''The Ring'' world champions *List of world heavyweight boxing champions * List of mayors of Kyiv


Notes


References


External links

* *
Real Stories: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko
at ''Grantland'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Klitschko, Vitali 1971 births AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Congress of the Council of Europe Doping cases in boxing European Boxing Union champions Governors of Kyiv Heavyweight kickboxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Klitschko brothers, * Kyrgyzstani emigrants to Ukraine Kyrgyzstani people of Russian descent Kyrgyzstani people of Ukrainian descent Laureus World Sports Awards winners Living people Mayors of Kyiv Seventh convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada People from Chüy Region People of the Euromaidan Pro-Ukrainian people of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Pro-Ukrainian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni The Ring (magazine) champions Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform politicians Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Ukrainian male boxers Ukrainian male kickboxers Ukrainian people of Jewish descent Ukrainian people of Russian descent Ukrainian sportspeople in doping cases Ukrainian sportsperson-politicians World Boxing Organization champions World Boxing Council champions World heavyweight boxing champions Military World Games gold medalists for Ukraine Military World Games medalists in boxing