1. Wladimir Klitschko was born on 25 March 1976 and is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017.
146 Facts About Wladimir Klitschko
1. 2.
Wladimir Klitschko held multiple heavyweight world championships between 2000 and 2015, including unified titles between 2008 and 2015.
3.
Wladimir Klitschko was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab; straight right hand; and left hook, quick hand speed, formidable physical strength, and his athletic footwork and mobility - unusual for boxers of his size.
4.
In 2006, Wladimir Klitschko regained a portion of the world heavyweight championship after defeating Byrd in a rematch to win the International Boxing Federation and IBO titles.
5.
Wladimir Klitschko won his second WBO title by defeating Sultan Ibragimov in 2008.
6.
Wladimir Klitschko holds records for the longest cumulative heavyweight title reign of all time, with 4,382 days as world heavyweight champion, and most fighters beaten for the world heavyweight championship, at 23.
7.
Wladimir Klitschko holds records for the most wins and title defences of the unified championship in professional boxing history.
8.
Wladimir Klitschko was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame Class of 2021, having been elected in his first year of eligibility.
9.
Wladimir Klitschko was born in Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union.
10.
Wladimir Klitschko is the son of Nadiia Ulianivna Klychko and Volodymyr Rodionovych Klychko, a Soviet Air Force major general and a military attache of USSR in East Germany.
11.
The Wladimir Klitschko brothers lived as children in Czechoslovakia from 1980 to 1985, where their father was stationed with the Soviet occupation forces.
12.
The Wladimir Klitschko brothers lived in Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR from 1985 to 1986, when the town was evacuated following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
13.
The elder Wladimir Klitschko was one of the commanders in charge of cleaning up the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and was afterward diagnosed with cancer.
14.
Wladimir Klitschko served as a military attache at the embassy of Ukraine in Germany.
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Wladimir Klitschko started training in amateur boxing with Brovary Olympic Reserve School in the late 1980s.
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Wladimir Klitschko defeated Lezin later that year on points in the semi-finals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
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Wladimir Klitschko had an amateur record of 134 wins and 6 losses.
18.
Wladimir Klitschko first achieved world attention at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Wladimir Klitschko defeated Paea Wolfgramm to win the Super-Heavyweight gold medal.
20.
Wladimir Klitschko turned professional with Universum Box-Promotion in Hamburg under the tutelage of Fritz Sdunek, often being featured on fight cards alongside his elder brother Vitali.
21.
Puritty forced Wladimir Klitschko, who had at that time not gone beyond eight rounds, to punch himself out.
22.
Wladimir Klitschko began to be overwhelmed in the tenth round and went down twice but was allowed to continue.
23.
On 18 March 2000, Wladimir Klitschko fought Paea Wolfgramm, whom he fought previously in the 1996 super-heavyweight Olympic finals.
24.
Wladimir Klitschko got his chance to fight for the world heavyweight championship on 14 October 2000 against WBO champion Chris Byrd.
25.
Byrd's title defence against Wladimir Klitschko was scheduled to take place at Kolnarena in Cologne and was billed as "Revenge Of The Brother".
26.
Wladimir Klitschko knocked him down twice more in round two, once with a straight right hand and again with another left hook, with the fight being stopped after the last knockdown, declaring Wladimir Klitschko the winner by TKO in the second round.
27.
Wladimir Klitschko knocked Shufford down three times, once in round two, once in round three and in round six with a left hook, with referee stopping the bout after the third knockdown.
28.
Wladimir Klitschko returned to Germany for the next defence of his WBO title against Francois Botha.
29.
Wladimir Klitschko had his next title defence scheduled three months later, on 29 June 2002 at Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, against former WBO heavyweight champion Ray Mercer.
30.
Wladimir Klitschko dominated Mercer throughout the entire bout, stopping Mercer in the sixth round.
31.
At 2:48 of the first round, Wladimir Klitschko dropped Mercer with a left hook, becoming only the second man to drop Mercer.
32.
Wladimir Klitschko became the first fighter to defeat Mercer inside the distance.
33.
Wladimir Klitschko returned to Mandalay Bay Event Center for his sixth defence on 7 December 2002 against Jameel McCline.
34.
CompuBox stats showed that Wladimir Klitschko landed 181 of his 433 punches thrown, and McCline landed 61 of 307.
35.
Wladimir Klitschko later admitted that he came to the fight unmotivated and was already thinking about the vacation he was going to enjoy after the fight.
36.
Wladimir Klitschko dominated Brewster through the course of the first four rounds, sending him to the canvas in the fourth; however, things turned around in the fifth when Wladimir Klitschko began tiring and Brewster's punches began backing him up.
37.
Not defending himself and leaning into ropes for support, Wladimir Klitschko took a standing eight count.
38.
On unsteady legs, Wladimir Klitschko fell to the canvas after the bell and the referee stopped the fight for his safety.
39.
The examination showed no signs of anabolic steroids in his blood, but Katlin suggested that Wladimir Klitschko could have been poisoned with Haloperidol.
40.
Goodman was sceptical of the theory that Wladimir Klitschko had been drugged.
41.
Judd Bernstein, the lawyer representing Wladimir Klitschko, suggested that he was a victim of an ongoing fight fixing in Las Vegas, which was investigated by FBI at the time.
42.
Bernstein, along with some other journalists, pointed out that in the last 48 hours before the beginning of the fight, the betting odds in favour of Wladimir Klitschko rapidly dropped from 11-to-1 to 3,5-to-1.
43.
An accidental head butt in the closing seconds of the fifth round caused Wladimir Klitschko bleeding from a cut above his right eye.
44.
Wladimir Klitschko's team, including his brother Vitali, were worried about Wladimir Klitschko, and were against this fight to happen.
45.
Wladimir Klitschko insisted on fighting Peter, claiming that beating a feared, hard-hitting fighter like Samuel Peter would help him to regain his stock and become mandatory challenger for two heavyweight belts.
46.
The first four rounds were tentative, with Wladimir Klitschko working behind the jab, not allowing Peter to close the distance.
47.
Wladimir Klitschko hurt Klitschko again in the fifth with another left hook, sending Klitschko to the canvas with the rabbit punch.
48.
Peter immediately went for the attack after Wladimir Klitschko got up, dropping him again with the rabbit punch.
49.
Wladimir Klitschko regained composure and outboxed Peter through sixth to ninth rounds, with Peter frequently trying to hit Wladimir Klitschko with the rabbit punch whenever escaping from a clinch.
50.
On 22 April 2006, in Mannheim, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko faced Chris Byrd for a second time, this time for the IBF heavyweight title.
51.
At the time of the bout, Byrd was ranked as the best heavyweight by The Ring, while Wladimir Klitschko was ranked eighth.
52.
Wladimir Klitschko defeated Byrd by TKO in the seventh round, becoming a two-time heavyweight world champion in the process.
53.
Wladimir Klitschko dominated the fight using his jab and superior reach, knocking Byrd down twice, once in round five and once in round seven.
54.
Wladimir Klitschko has a good jab, but they said Timur's best weapon was his jab.
55.
Wladimir Klitschko started fighting more aggressively, hurting Brock several times with the right cross.
56.
Wladimir Klitschko then faced mandatory challenger Ray Austin on 10 March 2007, at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany.
57.
Wladimir Klitschko won by a second-round KO with four consecutive left hooks to Austin's head.
58.
Wladimir Klitschko did not throw a single right hand in that fight.
59.
Wladimir Klitschko then avenged one of his previous losses as he defeated Lamon Brewster on 7 July 2007, in Cologne, Germany.
60.
Out of six journalists of the Ukrainian magazine Ring, five predicted Wladimir Klitschko to stop Ibragimov, with only one expecting Wladimir Klitschko to win by decision.
61.
The day before the bout, Wladimir Klitschko weighed in at 238 pounds, the lightest since 1999, while Ibragimov's weight was 219 pounds, his lightest since 2005.
62.
Wladimir Klitschko retreated onto the outside, fighting at a distance and remaining unreachable for Ibragimov who tried to establish his right jab but had his right hand constantly pushed down by Wladimir Klitschko.
63.
Wladimir Klitschko's dominance became even more visible after he caught Ibragimov with a straight right in round nine, almost knocking him down.
64.
Wladimir Klitschko caught Ibragimov again with a counter left hook at the end of the eleventh.
65.
Ultimately, the fight went the distance, with Wladimir Klitschko being declared the winner by unanimous decision.
66.
Wladimir Klitschko donated $500,000 of his earnings to the Bronx's Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
67.
Boxing journalist Phil Santos pointed out that Wladimir Klitschko fought for the majority of the fight "only with his left hand", proving that he "is the best heavyweight in the world right now".
68.
There's no denying that once Wladimir Klitschko collects all the belts, he will go down as one of the all-time greats.
69.
On 12 July 2008, Wladimir Klitschko faced mandatory challenger Tony Thompson.
70.
Many observes predicted Thompson to be a tough challenge for Wladimir Klitschko, expecting Wladimir Klitschko to ultimately win by TKO in the second half of the fight before the fighters would enter the championship rounds.
71.
The opening rounds were tentative, with Wladimir Klitschko seemingly struggling with Thompson's awkward southpaw style.
72.
Wladimir Klitschko's eye began to swell after Thompson caught him with the right hook in the fifth round.
73.
The experience is what helped Wladimir Klitschko to come back with the second wind and find an opportunity to secure the stoppage win.
74.
Wladimir Klitschko was scheduled to defend his titles against Alexander Povetkin later in 2008, but on 25 October, Povetkin withdrew from the fight due to an ankle injury.
75.
Wladimir Klitschko dominated the fight, winning every round while making good use of his left jab.
76.
Wladimir Klitschko was scheduled to face David Haye on 20 June 2009, but Haye pulled out within weeks of the fight complaining of a back injury.
77.
Ultimately, Wladimir Klitschko reached agreements with Chagaev who agreed to step in for Haye as a last-minute replacement.
78.
Wladimir Klitschko dominated the fight, keeping Chagaev at the end of his jab and throwing straight right hand whenever necessary.
79.
Wladimir Klitschko dropped Chagaev near the end of the second round, and was gradually fighting more aggressively as the fight progressed.
80.
In between the championship rounds, Wladimir Klitschko was criticised by his trainer Emmanuel Steward for not fighting aggressively, despite comfortably winning on the scorecards.
81.
Wladimir Klitschko picked up his pace during the final round and, with few seconds left, landed a left hook on Chambers' temple.
82.
On 17 May 2010, the 30-day period of negotiation began for Wladimir Klitschko to defend his championship against Povetkin.
83.
Wladimir Klitschko faced Peter for the second time, as they had fought in 2005 previously.
84.
Peter swung wildly in the tenth and Wladimir Klitschko put him down with a concussive combination.
85.
The contract was written so that if Wladimir Klitschko was not fully healed, then Haye would fight his brother, Vitali.
86.
Wladimir Klitschko fought Haye in a heavyweight unification fight for the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine heavyweight titles.
87.
On 5 December 2011, the fight was cancelled because Wladimir Klitschko checked into a hospital to have a kidney stone removed.
88.
CompuBox showed that in the 10 minutes and 12 seconds the fight lased, Wladimir Klitschko landed 39 of 135 punches thrown and Mormeck landed just 3 of 19 thrown.
89.
On 4 March 2012, Wladimir Klitschko stated that he would next fight his mandatory challenger Tony Thompson, who had been ranked as the world's eighth best heavyweight by BoxRec at the conclusion of the previous year, in a rematch from their first fight in 2008.
90.
Wladimir Klitschko became more dominant in the second, working mostly with his jab.
91.
Wladimir Klitschko continued his assault in the sixth, sending Thompson down again with a flurry of shots.
92.
CompuBox stats showed Wladimir Klitschko landed 51 of 121 total punches thrown and Thompson landed only 25 of 183 thrown.
93.
Wladimir Klitschko revealed he would train with Johnathon Banks due to Steward recovering from a bowel operation.
94.
On fight night, at the 02 World Arena, Wladimir Klitschko dominated and retained his titles with a one sided UD.
95.
The bout opened with a battle between jabs which was won by Wladimir Klitschko, who was following his jabs with his signature straight right.
96.
Wach showed a great chin later in the fight when Wladimir Klitschko began to let his hands go more landing thunderous shots.
97.
The reason the fight would never get made was due to the fact that the Wladimir Klitschko's had a contract with German television network RTL and Huck was signed with their rival network ARD.
98.
On 5 March 2013, K2 Promotions announced that Wladimir Klitschko would fight another undefeated contender, Italian Francesco Pianeta, on 4 May at SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany.
99.
Wladimir Klitschko went on to say he won his biggest fight against cancer in 2009.
100.
Wladimir Klitschko dropped Pianeta with a right hand in round four, a left hand put Pianeta down in the fifth; the fight ended at 2:52 in round six when Klitschko put Pianeta down for the third time.
101.
The Wladimir Klitschko camp were said to be surprised by the bid.
102.
The bout was marred with over 160 clinches, most initiated by Wladimir Klitschko, followed by several repeated roughhouse tactics throughout the match.
103.
Wladimir Klitschko won by UD, scoring a knockdown in round two from a quick left hook, and three knockdowns in round seven, including one prompted from a straight right hand.
104.
Wladimir Klitschko landed 139 of 417 punches and Povetkin connected on 59 of 283.
105.
On fight night, Wladimir Klitschko knocked Leapai down three times, and referee Eddie Cotton stopped the fight with 55 seconds remaining in the fifth round.
106.
Kalle Sauerland stated that he would request to get Wladimir Klitschko stripped of the IBF title if he didn't fight Pulev.
107.
HBO announced that they would air the fight live in the afternoon, making it the 19th Wladimir Klitschko fight they would show.
108.
Two days before the fight, it was revealed only the IBF title would be at stake for Pulev, however if Wladimir Klitschko loses, the remaining titles would be vacated.
109.
Wladimir Klitschko was scheduled to take on undefeated heavyweight contender Tyson Fury, the WBO mandatory challenger, on 24 October 2015.
110.
On 25 September 2015, Wladimir Klitschko postponed the fight, citing a calf injury.
111.
Wladimir Klitschko reportedly had his hands wrapped without a representative of Fury present, so had to do them again.
112.
Wladimir Klitschko landed 52 of 231 punches thrown and Fury landed 86 of 371 thrown.
113.
Wladimir Klitschko was entitled to a rematch with Fury as part of the contract for their first fight.
114.
Wladimir Klitschko apologised to his fans and confirmed the fight would be rescheduled for a later date.
115.
On 24 October, Wladimir Klitschko suffered a minor calf injury which would rule him out until 2017.
116.
Wladimir Klitschko put a request in for 5,000 more tickets to be made available.
117.
At the weigh in, Wladimir Klitschko weighed in at 240 and a quarter pounds, the lightest he has weighed since 2009.
118.
An angry Wladimir Klitschko rose up and dominated Joshua for the remainder of the round, before landing a clean right hand and scoring his own knockdown in round six.
119.
Wladimir Klitschko again rose but Joshua knocked him down for a second time in the round by unleashing a seven-punch combination, flooring Wladimir Klitschko with a left hook.
120.
The referee then concluded that Wladimir Klitschko had taken enough punishment and stopped the fight.
121.
CompuBox stats showed that Joshua landed 107 of his 355 punches thrown, and Wladimir Klitschko landed 94 of 256.
122.
Wladimir Klitschko got up, he fought back, and he won the titles.
123.
Big respect to Wladimir Klitschko for challenging the young lions of the division.
124.
Wladimir Klitschko said he needed time to review his situation before agreeing to a rematch.
125.
On 3 August 2017, Wladimir Klitschko announced on his official website and social media channels that he was retiring from boxing.
126.
Wladimir Klitschko ended his professional career with 64 wins in 69 fights, 53 by knockout.
127.
Wladimir Klitschko has been named multiple times among the 100 highest paid athletes in the world by Forbes: he was ranked 24th in 2012,41st in 2013,25th in 2014,63rd in 2015 and 98th in 2017.
128.
Wladimir Klitschko has been named multiple times among the 100 most influential people in Ukraine by Korrespondent: he was ranked 95th in 2006,88th in 2010,43rd in 2011,51st in 2012 and 45th in 2013.
129.
In 2017, Wladimir Klitschko was honoured with the Order of Liberty, 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.
130.
Wladimir Klitschko holds several historical records, including the longest combined world championship reign in heavyweight history at 4,382 days ; 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 defences respectively.
131.
Wladimir Klitschko has the second most total successful title defences of any heavyweight boxer with 23, behind Joe Louis and ahead of Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali and the third most consecutive title defenses in heavyweight history.
132.
Wladimir Klitschko fought in 29 world heavyweight title fights, more than any other boxer in history.
133.
Wladimir Klitschko has beaten 9 current or former world champions throughout his career.
134.
Rafael believes that Wladimir Klitschko's 22-fight winning streak from 2004 to 2015, which included unifying three titles, cemented his legacy among the greatest of all time.
135.
Wladimir Klitschko was criticized for his cautious boxing style, but Rafael argues that a lack of exciting fights is not equal to lack of quality.
136.
Wladimir Klitschko believes that the alleged weakness of the era in which Klitschko competed is overexaggerated, arguing that only two eras in heavyweight boxing, the 1970s and 1990s, could be considered great eras, and that Klitschko's era is no weaker than that of Mike Tyson who made only half as many title defenses as Wladimir did.
137.
Rafael wrote that even though Wladimir Klitschko suffered some bad losses, the totality of his career must be considered.
138.
In 2021, Wladimir Klitschko was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, having been elected over Miguel Cotto and James Toney by a panel of around 200 international boxing historians.
139.
Wladimir Klitschko is a passionate golfer and was seen playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
140.
Wladimir Klitschko was named curator of the Ukrainian pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale.
141.
From 2009, Wladimir Klitschko was in a relationship with American actress Hayden Panettiere.
142.
Panettiere has appeared ringside at some of Wladimir Klitschko's fights, including at Wladimir Klitschko's 10th-round KO victory over Samuel Peter.
143.
Wladimir Klitschko was friends with the late German heavyweight legend Max Schmeling.
144.
Wladimir Klitschko said he would use the money to help the dreams of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children.
145.
In February 2022, Wladimir Klitschko joined the Kyiv Territorial Defense Brigade.
146.
In November 2024, Wladimir Klitschko issued a request to American podcast host Joe Rogan to have him on his show in order to discuss their differences regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict.