Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko
Born	Volodymyr Klychko (1976-03-25) 25 March 1976 Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Ukrainian
Other names	Dr. Steelhammer
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	55
Wins	52
Wins by KO	46
Losses	3

Olympic medal record
Representing Ukraine
Men's boxing
	1996 Atlanta	Super heavyweight
European Amateur Championships
	1996 Vejle	Super heavyweight

Wladimir Vladimirovich Klitschko (Template:Pron-en; [Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help); born 25 March 1976, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan) is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko currently holds the IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles and is ranked number one by the IBO in the top 100 computerized rankings. His elder brother, Vitali Klitschko, is the current WBC and former WBO heavyweight champion. The spelling Wladimir is a German spelling his manager adopted for him early in his career. The Ukrainian version of his name is Volodymyr (Володимир), which in Russian is Vladimir (Владимир).

Biography

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

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

Boxing career

Amateur career

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

Known as "The Steel Hammer," Klitschko first achieved world attention at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He defeated Paea Wolfgramm to win the Super-Heavyweight gold medal. He is now announced as "Dr. Steel Hammer," a name more in the vein of his brother, Vitali, who goes by "Dr. Ironfist."

Professional career

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

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

Wladimir Klitschko boxing Hasim Rahman, 2008

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

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

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

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. Instead, Vladimir faced Hasim Rahman on 13 December 2008 and won by TKO. This was the third time Klitschko fought at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. He dominated the fight, winning every round while making good use of his left jab. The referee finally called a stop to the contest in the 7th round after Rahman failed to respond to a series of good shots.

The brothers have been quoted saying that it is only a matter of time until they unify the WBA title belt which is currently held by Ruslan Chagaev and Nikolai Valuev. If they achieve this feat, the Klitschko brothers will become the first brothers in heavyweight boxing history to simultaneously hold all of the belts.

Originally scheduled to fight David Haye who had to pull out of the fight due to an back injury,, he is currently set to fight Ruslan Chagaev on 20 June 2009 for the IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles. It will be held at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It is also for the ring magazine heavyweight title.

Other interests

Klitschko appeared with Lennox Lewis in the motion picture Ocean's Eleven. He is an avid chess player, wind-surfer, golfer, and humanitarian. Both Klitschko brothers have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to supporting the needs of children around the world. Both brothers have formed their own charities that contribute to children in need in Africa and South America. They won humanitarian awards for their "Fight For Peace" and "Sport for Good" projects in 2002 and 2007. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries.

Vladimir is also a passionate golfer and was seen playing in the Links Championship in Scotland. The tournament was played over three courses in 2008 including St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns in Fife. One of his favorite foods is thought to be Sarma, a cabbage dish.

Klitschko was named curator of the Ukrainian pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale.

External links

• "The Official Site of Klitschko Brothers" (in German/English/Ukrainian/Russian).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Wladimir Klitschko Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Boxing record for Wladimir Klitschko from BoxRec (registration required)
• Biofile Q&A interview with Vladimir {http://www.boxinginsider.com/biofiles/wladimir-klitschko/}