Vitali Klitschko Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,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 ...

(born 25 March 1976), known as the Klitschko Brothers, are Ukrainian 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 ...

s. During their peak years between 2004 and 2015, they were considered the dominant 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 ...

champions of their era, and among the most successful champions in boxing history. In 2011, they 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 brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins (30 at the time; 40 as of 2020). In the years following the retirement of heavyweight titlist

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, ...

in 2004, the Klitschko brothers would eventually accumulate all four major world heavyweight titles. Known for their exceptionally large physiques, speed, and punching power, they each developed a style that utilized their athleticism and arm reach to break down opponents. In 2013, Vitali retired from boxing, relinquishing the WBC world title, and became a politician in his native

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Wladimir continued to successfully defend the

WBA (Super) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...

, IBF,

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 ...

, IBO, and ''

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 ...

'' magazine titles until he was defeated by

Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2024. He held multiple world heavyweight championships, including unified titles from 2015 to 2016, the '' Ring'' magazine title twice bet ...

in 2015. Both brothers hold

doctorates A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

Biography

Both brothers made their professional debuts on November 16, 1996 in

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 ...

. Since then, both have been world heavyweight boxing champions. They promised their mother that they would never fight each other.

1996 Olympics

As an amateur, Wladimir Klitschko represented Ukraine at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division. In 1996, when still an amateur, Vitali Klitschko tested positive for a banned substance and was removed from the Ukrainian boxing team.

1999–2003: First world title reigns and defenses

In June 1999, Vitali Klitschko won the WBO Heavyweight title from Herbie Hide via second-round knockout. He successfully defended the title twice before losing it to

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 ...

. Six months later, younger brother Wladimir dethroned Byrd via lopsided points decision. He registered five successful title defenses, all by TKO until suffering an upset TKO loss to Corrie Sanders in March 2003. Vitali Klitschko lost his fight with Lennox Lewis in his attempt to win the WBC, IBO, ''The Ring'' and lineal heavyweight championships.

2004–2006: Second world title reigns and Vitali's first retirement

Vitali faced South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004 for the WBC heavyweight championship and The Ring belts that had been vacated by Lewis. Vitali won by 8th round stoppage, he defended his titles just once, stopping Danny Williams in the 8th round before retiring in late 2005 due to injuries. Wladimir bounced back from a stoppage loss in a prior vacant title attempt, to dethrone Byrd for a second time for his IBF title in April 2006, this time by stoppage in the 7th round.

2008–2012: Heavyweight title co-dominance, Vitali's final retirement

After a series of injuries, Vitali had a career break of almost four years. In his comeback fight in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on October 11, 2008 he defeated

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, ...

to regain the title of WBC world heavyweight champion. At that time Wladimir was already world heavyweight champion with the

, IBF and IBO. That was the first time in history with two brothers world champions at the same time. On July 2, 2011, Wladimir won the WBA Title, which means that the Klitschko brothers held all of the World Heavyweight Titles simultaneously for 2 years, 5 months & 13 days. Vitali retained the WBC Heavyweight Championship until 15 December 2013, relinquishing his belt in pursuit of his political aspirations in his native Ukraine. The Klitschko brothers jointly run the professional boxing promotion companies "''K2 Promotions''" and "''K2 East Promotions''", as well as the "''Klitschko Brothers Fund''", a charity organization. They appear together on German TV shows and commercials, have a website shared between them, and support each other's training and fights.

2013–2015: Wladimir dominance

After Vitali's retirement, Wladimir continued to reign as champion & successfully defend all remaining title belts except for the WBC belt. He eventually lost all the belts by unanimous decision to

. The brothers have a combined professional boxing record of 109 wins (94 KO's) and 7 defeats, including 46 world title fights.

Reception and legacy

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, particularly Wladimir, who became notorious for his use of the jab. In 2011, Wladimir and Vitali entered the

book as 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 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 and Wladimir have been named multiple times among the 100 most influential people in Ukraine by

Korrespondent ''Korrespondent'' (; ; literally: ''Correspondent'') is a weekly printed magazine published in Ukraine in the Russian and Ukrainian languages. It is part of United Media Holding group, created by Boris Lozhkin and owned by Serhiy Kurchenko.

: they were ranked 60th and 95th respectively in 2006; 44th and 88th in 2010; 41st and 43rd in 2011; 16th and 51st in 2012; 10th and 45th in 2013. Vitali was also ranked 23rd in 2017 and 28th in 2019.

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

named Wladimir the most popular celebrity in Ukraine in 2015, placing him ahead of a singer

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk Sviatoslav Ivanovych "Slava" Vakarchuk (; born 14 May 1975) is a Ukrainian musician, politician, public activist and soldier. He is the lead vocalist of Okean Elzy, a rock band in Ukraine. Vakarchuk is a formerBrussel" (Brussels). In 2015, Vak ...

and

Kvartal 95 Studio Kvartal 95 Studio (; ) is a Ukrainian production company founded in 2003 by Volodymyr Zelenskyy (who later became President of Ukraine) alongside Serhiy and Boris Shefir. The company produces films and television shows in Russian and Ukrainian ...

, and ranked him second and third in 2012 and 2013 respectively (the ranking wasn't conducted in 2014); Vitali was ranked fifth in 2012. The Klitschkos were also considered big stars in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. A survey carried out by TNS for the Horizont Sport Business in 2003 showed that Wladimir Klitschko was recognized by 91.7% of Germans while Vitali was recognized by 90.9% of respondents, making them the fourth and sixth most recognized athlete in Germany at the time respectively. According to the same survey, 70.7% of respondents celebrated Vitali's successes while 70.5% celebrated Wladimir's, making them second and third most beloved athlete in Germany at the time respectively. According to 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 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. Eighteen of their fights generated above 10 million average viewers, and Wladimir's world heavyweight title defense against

Eddie Chambers Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 200 ...

in March 2010 drew bigger viewership numbers on

RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...

than the return of the

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

legend voted the greatest German athlete of the 20th century

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

. Credited for selling out sports stadiums, the Klitschkos had ten of their fights take place at sports stadiums in Germany, Switzerland, Poland and United Kingdom with all but one having attendances ranging from 40,000 to 90,000. Known for charity work and philanthropy, the Klitschkos are two of only 15 living current or former athletes that have been named UNESCO Champions for Sport.

Vitali Klitschko

Having never been knocked down, Vitali Klitschko is widely regarded as the tougher fighter of the two. His 87% knockout percentage is 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 almost never 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 George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

stated that he has the best straight left in the division. Throughout his career, Vitali has defeated 15 boxers for the world heavyweight title, the fifth-most in history (tied with

), 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 ''

'' world heavyweight championship. Klitschko is one of nine boxers to defeat at least ten different fighters for the world heavyweight title. He is the only heavyweight boxer to have reigned as world champion in three different decades. Klitschko and

are the only heavyweight boxers in history to defend a world title after turning 40. As of April 2025,

BoxRec BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every profess ...

ranks Vitali at No. 96 among the greatest fighters of all time, pound for pound. According to BoxRec, Vitali has defeated 7 previously undefeated fighters with a combined record 135–0–3 (95 KOs) – these seven included Alben Belinski (professional record 5–0, five KOs coming into the fight), Ed Mahone (21–0–2, 21 KOs),

Timo Hoffmann Timo Hoffmann (born 25 September 1974) is a German professional boxer and multiple-time European heavyweight title challenger. He is perhaps best known as being the first fighter to have gone the full distance against Vitali Klitschko, who held ...

(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

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 ...

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

, 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

Orlin Norris Orlin Levance Norris (born October 4, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 1993 to 1995. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves title. He is the brothe ...

and

Juan Carlos Gomez ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

. At the end of 2004, Vitali was honoured with the

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

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 Cross of the Order of Merit, the highest German honour, for his social and political engagement. In 2013, Klitschko was awarded the Georgian

Presidential Order of Excellence The Presidential Order of Excellence is an award given by the President of Georgia to individuals in culture, education, science, art, sport, and other fields, for significant achievements and meritorious service for Georgia. The award was esta ...

. In 2018, Vitali was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

. He was elected in his first year of eligibility.

Wladimir Klitschko

As heavyweight champion, Wladimir was unbeaten for over a decade. Wladimir Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, and amongst the hardest punching knockout artists in history. He has been heavily praised for his fundamental approach to boxing, during which he nullifies opponents with his jab, before knocking opponents out with a straight right. While not as durable as Vitali, his knowledge of the fundamentals and athleticism gave him considerable advantage over other heavyweights. The twelve undefeated fighters that Wladimir has beaten in his career is considered a record at heavyweight. During Wladimir's reign as world heavyweight champion, his fights would reportedly draw up to 500 million viewers worldwide. Klitschko has been named multiple times among the 100 highest paid athletes in the world by

: he was ranked 24th in 2012 (Forbes' inaugural list; estimated income $28 million between 1 June 2011 and 1 June 2012), 41st in 2013 ($24 million), 25th in 2014 ($28 million), 63rd in 2015 ($21.5 million) and 98th in 2017. During his active career Klitschko was only omitted from the Forbes' list once, in 2016, despite the fact that he reportedly earned $22.5 million for the fight against

in November 2015 (100th-ranked

Buster Posey Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III (born March 27, 1987) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball catcher. He is currently the president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB ...

earned $20.8 million; 85th-ranked

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor (born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) UFC Featherweight Championship, Featherweight and UFC Lightweight Championship, Li ...

earned $22 million). Wladimir Klitschko's total professional career earnings' estimations vary between €150 million and $250 million. Throughout his career, Wladimir has defeated 23 boxers for the world heavyweight championship, the most in boxing history. He holds several historical records, including the longest combined world championship reign in heavyweight history at 4,382 days (12 years); the most beaten opponents and wins in world heavyweight title bouts since the international expansion of boxing governing bodies, at 23 and 25 respectively; the most wins in unified title bouts and the longest unified championship reign in professional boxing history at 15 title bouts and 14 consecutive defenses respectively; and has the second most total successful title defenses of any heavyweight boxer with 23 (including his first reign as WBO champion), behind

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

(25) and ahead of

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He is often considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. ...

(20) and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

(19). Klitschko fought in 29 world heavyweight title fights, more than any other boxer in history. As of April 2025,

ranks Wladimir Klitschko at No. 69 among greatest boxers of all time, pound for pound. According to BoxRec, Wladimir has also defeated 12 previously undefeated fighters with a combined record 267–0–5 (174 KOs) – these 12 included Najee Shaheed (professional record 16–0–1, 8 KOs coming into the fight), Zoran Vujicic (14–0, 6 KOs),

Eliseo Castillo Eliseo Castillo (born April 29, 1975) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2009, holding the NABO cruiserweight title in 2006. He is the younger brother of Heavyweight boxer Elieser Castillo. Amateur career From the ...

(18–0–1, 14 KOs),

(24–0, 21 KOs),

Calvin Brock Calvin Vance Brock (born January 22, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.7 heavyweight by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankell ...

(29–0, 22 KOs),

Sultan Ibragimov Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov (, ; born 8 March 1975) is a Russian former professional boxer. He competed from 2002 to 2008, and held the WBO world heavyweight title from 2007 to 2008. He was ranked by '' The Ring'' as the world's s ...

(22–0–1, 17 KOs),

Ruslan Chagaev Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev (; ; ); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2016. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title twice ( Regular version in his second reign) and w ...

(25–0–1, 17 KOs),

Mariusz Wach Mariusz Wach (; born 14 December 1979) is a Polish professional boxer. He challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles against Wladimir Klitschko in 2012. Early life Wach was born 14 December 1979 in Krak ...

(27–0, 15 KOs), Francesco Pianeta (28–0–1, 15 KOs),

Alexander Povetkin Alexander Vladimirovich Povetkin (; born 2 September 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) ( Regular version) heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013; the World Boxing ...

(26–0, 18 KOs),

Kubrat Pulev Kubrat Venkov Pulev (; born 4 May 1981) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title ( Regular version) since 2024. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, includ ...

(20–0, 11 KOs) and

Bryant Jennings Bryant Jennings (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for the unified world heavyweight titles in 2015, and the WBA interim heavyweight title in the same year. He holds a notable win over former ...

(19–0, 10 KOs). Wladimir has beaten 9 current or former world champions throughout his career. These included heavyweight champions

(twice),

Ray Mercer Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is a former American professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. Mercer won a heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics as an amateur, and later ...

Lamon Brewster Lamon Tajuan Brewster (born June 5, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2010. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2004 to 2006, and is best known for scoring an upset knockout ...

(twice),

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, ...

and

, two-weight world champion

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 ...

and unified cruiserweight champion

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 ...

; their combined title fight record stands at 29–14–2, 15 KOs (28–4–2, 14 KOs when excluding fights against Wladimir). In 2017, Wladimir was honoured with the

Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom (), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignity. The order was cr ...

, the highest Ukrainian honour that can be awarded to a person of any nationality, for his achievements in sports and contribution to the economical, scientific and cultural development of Ukraine. In 2021, Klitschko was inducted into the

. Just like his brother, Wladimir was elected in his first year of eligibility, having been chosen over

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win quadruple champion, world titles in fo ...

and

James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and lineal ...

by a panel of around 200 international boxing historians.

Criticism

A criticism of the Klitschkos is that their dominant championship reign was the result of a heavyweight landscape devoid of world class competition. Previous heavyweight eras had multiple boxers considered world class fighters competing, such as

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...

and

during the 1970s, and

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 ...

and

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...

during the 1990s. According to some observers, this was not the case for the Klitschkos, who were able to dominate other heavyweights with relative ease. Wladimir Klitschko's style receives strong criticism from the boxing community, commonly being described as "boring" or "robotic". While initially an exciting fighter, a series of losses led him to hire legendary boxing trainer

Emmanuel Steward Emanuel "Manny" Steward (July 7, 1944 – October 25, 2012) was an American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. Known as "the godfather of Detroit boxing," Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his career, most ...

to cultivate his defensive abilities. At 6′ 6″, and one of the largest heavyweights in the division, Wladimir typically relies on an excellent jab to keep opponents at arms reach, and then clinching opponents once they get too close. This was meant to fatigue opponents before he would knock them out in the later rounds or win on scorecards.

Timeline of Klitschkos' championship

Vitali Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko

ImageSize = width:1100 height:auto barincrement:26 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:60 top:0 right:5 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/09/1996 till:30/06/2017 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1997 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1998 Colors = id:WBO value:blue legend:WBO id:WBA value:gray(0.6) legend:WBA id:IBF value:red legend:IBF id:Ring value:orange legend:Ring id:Fights_Win value:black legend:Fights_won id:Fights_Loss value:red legend:Fights_lost LineData = at:16/11/1996 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:30/11/1996 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:21/12/1996 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:25/01/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:15/02/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:12/04/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:10/05/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:13/05/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:27/05/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:12/06/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:23/08/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:20/09/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:11/10/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:06/12/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:20/12/1997 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:14/02/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:14/03/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:23/05/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:10/07/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:06/08/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:03/10/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:14/11/1998 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:05/12/1998 color:Fights_Loss layer:back at:13/02/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:24/04/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:22/05/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:17/07/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:25/09/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:12/11/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:04/12/1999 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:18/03/2000 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:29/04/2000 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:15/07/2000 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:12/10/2000 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:24/03/2001 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:04/08/2001 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:16/03/2002 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:29/07/2002 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:07/12/2002 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:08/03/2003 color:Fights_Loss layer:back at:30/08/2003 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:20/12/2003 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:10/04/2004 color:Fights_Loss layer:back at:02/10/2004 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:23/04/2005 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:24/09/2005 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:22/04/2006 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:11/11/2006 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:10/03/2007 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:07/07/2007 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:23/02/2008 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:12/07/2008 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:13/12/2008 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:20/07/2009 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:20/03/2010 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:11/10/2010 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:02/07/2011 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:03/03/2012 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:07/07/2012 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:10/10/2012 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:04/05/2013 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:05/10/2013 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:26/04/2014 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:15/11/2014 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:25/04/2015 color:Fights_Win layer:back at:28/11/2015 color:Fights_Loss layer:back at:29/04/2017 color:Fights_Loss layer:back BarData = bar:WBO text:WBO bar:WBA text:WBA bar:IBF text:IBF bar:Ring text:Ring PlotData= width:12 bar:WBO from:14/10/2000 till:08/03/2003 color:WBO bar:WBO from:23/02/2008 till:28/11/2015 color:WBO bar:WBA from:02/07/2011 till:28/11/2015 color:WBA bar:IBF from:22/04/2006 till:28/11/2015 color:IBF bar:Ring from:20/07/2009 till:28/11/2015 color:Ring

Recognition

* Asteroid 212723 Klitschko, which was discovered at

Andrushivka Andrushivka (, ) is a city in Berdychiv Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. Prior to the 2020 administrative reform, it was the administrative center of the former Andrushivka Raion. The population in 2023 is 8669 people. The city is located in the ...

in 2007, is named after Klitschko brothers. * In 2010, "Klitschko" postage stamps were issued by

Ukrposhta The Public Joint-stock company, JSC Ukrainian Postal Service or Ukrposhta () is the national postal service of Ukraine. It is a public company with 100% state ownership due to its strategic importance. From 1999–2015 it was a unitary enterpris ...

, the national postal service of

.Про введення в обіг поштової марки № 1047 "Кличко"
– Севастопольська дирекція – Укрпошта, 3 June 2010. (in Ukrainian)

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://klitschko.com/ Heavyweight boxers Brother duos Sports duos Ukrainian politicians Ukrainian democracy activists Ukrainian male boxers Ukrainian families