Klitschko Brothers: Biography, personal life, career

The parents of the legendary boxers were natives of Ukraine, but the father's occupation, Vladimir Rodionovich, forced him to travel extensively throughout the republics of the Soviet Union. He was a professional military man, by the end of his career he had reached the rank of Major-General of the Ukrainian Air Force and the position of military attaché at the Ukrainian Embassy abroad. Mum, Nadezhda Ulyanovna, devoted her life to school, where she worked as a primary school teacher. Many are interested in the question of where the Klitschko brothers were born. Both of them were born in the Central Asian republics with a difference of five years. Vitaly was born in a small village in Kyrgyzstan in 1971, while Vladimir was born in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. The tall textured guys could not help being involved in sports. Vladimir immediately decided on his speciality and from the age of 14 trained in the boxing section. Vitaly was interested in different kinds of martial arts. He finally settled on kickboxing, where he achieved considerable success.

Having won the Olympic title

Wladimir Klitschko saw no point in continuing his amateur career. This decision was supported by Vitali. Soon the Klitschko brothers decided to test themselves in the tough world of professional boxing. Like many other European boxers, the Ukrainians chose Germany to develop their careers. One of the most reputable promoter companies at that time was Universum Box-Promotion, with which Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko signed a contract. Fritz Zdunek, an authoritative German specialist, became the trainer of the guys. Both boxers made their professional boxing debut at the same time in 1996.

The brothers had their first fights against frankly weak opponents, most of whom had a number of defeats prevailing over the victories in their asset. Vitali, for example, won all of his first ten fights by knockout, not even making it to the third round. Only in the eleventh fight his opponent Gilbert Williamson lasted until the 6th round, having been knocked down several times. Wladimir Klitschko's fights looked about the same. A more or less serious opponent of the Ukrainian was Carlos Monroe, who imposed on Klitschko a dirty fight and gave him a head dissection in the sixth round.

Just as many novice boxers test their luck in the ring, people looking for excitement outside of sports often turn to online gaming. Some of them take advantage of special offers like the Crusino casino no deposit bonus, which allows players to start their experience without initial investment — much like the Klitschko brothers started cautiously before stepping into bigger challenges.

In general, the Klitschko brothers did not make much of an impression on specialists at the time and were considered to be just another ‘European champions’, that is, boxers who would spend their careers against little-known opponents in fights of little interest to anyone.

Vladimir's first titles

A few years later, having accumulated a sufficient number of victories in his asset, Ukrainian boxers began to fight for various belts. Vladimir's first title fight took place in February 1998. At stake was not too honourable the belt of the intercontinental champion of the world according to the WBC version. Marcus McIntyre did not resist for too long, and in the third round without much effort Klitschko - a boxer significantly superior to his opponent, knocked him out. After that, he made several successful defenses, also without any problems, knocking out his challengers. In 1998, Wladimir's first defeat took place. The most offensive for him was the first fight, which was held in the homeland of Klitschko. Kiev became the city where his fight with Ross Purity took place. And in this fight, Wladimir's reluctance to take long fights was reflected. Easily dealing with his previous opponents in the first rounds, he also against Purity sought to solve everything with a quick knockout. However, Ross stood his ground and took it to the final stretches. Big and heavy Ukrainian boxer was very much exhausted by the tenth round, it came to the point that he was knocked down twice. In the next round everything repeated itself, and Vladimir's seconds stopped the beating of their boxer. In the future, the Ukrainian learnt from his defeat, and the following fights of Wladimir Klitschko ended with victories. Among them were fights with Zoran Vujecic, strong German Axel Schultz, long-time acquaintance Paea Wolfgramm.

Criticism of the Klitschko Brothers' Style

In the early years of their careers, the promoters of the Klitschko brothers were in no hurry to rush them into fights against truly serious opponents. Even after a long series of convincing victories, the attitude towards the Ukrainian heavyweights remained rather skeptical. They were often criticized for being too slow, too clumsy, and too formulaic in their actions. Coming from an amateur boxing background, they continued to rely on learned patterns without much variety.

The tactical arsenal of both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko was quite monotonous. Using their height and reach advantage, they kept opponents at a distance with powerful jabs and avoided close combat. Their boxing style seemed predictable and repetitive, yet it proved effective against weaker opponents.

However, things changed when they faced real professionals capable of explosive actions and unconventional attacks. One of the first such opponents was Chris Byrd — an unusual and unconventional American heavyweight who had moved up from the light heavyweight division. Byrd was extremely fast and agile, making it very difficult to land clean shots on him, although his punches lacked the power typical of heavyweight fighters.

In the fight with Vitali Klitschko, Byrd successfully dodged long punches and repeatedly landed sharp, accurate counters. As a result, Vitali suffered the first loss of his career. But if a boxer defeated one of the Klitschko brothers, he inevitably had to face the other. In 2000, Wladimir Klitschko met Byrd in the ring to take the WBO belt and avenge his older brother. This time, Wladimir had learned from past mistakes, using his physical advantage and constantly pressing Byrd. He knocked the American down twice and won on points, becoming a world champion.

First Defeats

After becoming a champion, Wladimir Klitschko held several successful title defenses, sticking to his cautious style and avoiding truly top-tier opponents. But in 2003, everything changed. His next challenger was Corrie Sanders, a relatively unknown boxer from South Africa, whom many viewed as just another stepping stone on Klitschko’s path.

However, Sanders proved to be a true professional with an aggressive, unpredictable fighting style and powerful hooks. Wladimir, acting in his usual straightforward and predictable manner, was unprepared for this kind of opponent. At the end of the first round, Sanders floored him with a punch reminiscent of old-school boxing — a technique rarely seen in the modern sport. In the second round, Sanders finished the job, and after the fourth knockdown, the referee stopped the beating.

It seemed like this loss could mark the end of Wladimir’s career, but he returned to the ring and secured several victories. His next opponent, Lamon Brewster, was not considered anything special. For the first four rounds, Wladimir dominated the fight, but then, for reasons that remain unclear, he suddenly began to lose strength. Brewster seized the moment and unleashed a brutal assault, forcing the referee to stop the match.

These crushing defeats became crucial turning points for Wladimir Klitschko. They forced him to reevaluate his approach to boxing, physical preparation, and strategy. This transformation eventually led him to become one of the most dominant heavyweight champions in boxing history.

Revival of Ukrainian heavyweights

Defeats gradually hardened the brothers, they worked to be more diverse, to stop acting schematically. One of the decisive moments in Vitali's career was the fight with Lennox Lewis. Finally he had the opportunity to meet the real superstar of world boxing in a fight for the title of world champion under the prestigious version. Despite the defeat Vitali acted very well and at the moment of the fight stoppage he was leading on points. Only due to the fact that Vitali received a serious cut after a punch from Lewis, the fight was stopped and the victory was awarded to the current world champion. After Lewis left the sport, the way to the belt was opened, and Vitali began to go up. The championship fight with Corrie Sanders in 2004 should be highlighted. The South African acted as aggressively as he did against Wladimir, and Vitali was on the verge of disaster. However, he endured, and after his opponent was exhausted, he began to beat Sanders in his turn. After that in world boxing came the real era of the Klitschko brothers. In the absence of boxers, equal in talent to Mike Tyson, no one could not really compete with the Ukrainian fighters. Methodically and leisurely, year after year, they collected championship belts in all prestigious weight categories. On their way to the top, they defeated reigning champions Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimbekov. After Vitaly's retirement from the sport, Wladimir remained the strongest heavyweight boxer. In 2013, an attempt to interrupt the decade of the Klitschko brothers was made by Alexander Povetkin, but with a serious advantage Klitschko Jr. defeated the Russian. Only in 2015, Tyson Fury managed to defeat Wladimir. After the scandalous departure from the sport of the Briton, the world crowns in boxing became free. The bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua on 29 April 2017 should decide who is more worthy of the titles. All boxing fans are waiting for it with anticipation.

Personal life

Wladimir Klitschko was not notable for the constancy of his relationships. He dated Kiev model Alexandra Avizova, Yvon Katerfeld, and another model Alena Gerber.

He is currently living with Hayden Panettiere. In 2014, they had a daughter, who was named Kaya Evdokia. Vitali Klitschko's wife is no less charismatic than her husband. Natalia Klitschko (maiden name: Egorova) is a famous former Ukrainian photo model and sportswoman. During their marriage, the couple had three children - sons Egor-Daniel and Maxim, and daughter Elizaveta-Victoria. Vitali Klitschko's wife actively supports her husband in his political and public activities. Sometimes she even outshines him with her personality on this front.