Are the Klitschko Brothers All Time Great Heavyweights?
By Joe Wilson
The dynamic duo, the twin towers of Europe. The Klitschko Brothers presence in the heavyweight division is as solid as a rock. When you think of the heavyweight division of today, you think of the Klitschkos. Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko is the subject of heavyweight boxing. I’ve heard it put this way, their last name begins with “K” and ends with “O” but that only partially describe the hard-hitting Klitschko Brothers. Will they both be remembered as great heavyweights?
They are both educated with degrees as Doctors. Grew up in the Ukraine. Raised by their two parents, father Wladimir Rodionovich a General in the Air Force, and mother Nadezhda Ulyanovna a schoolteacher. They both are well mannered with great attitudes and well spoken. They speak four different languages – English, Russian, German and Ukrainian. Most people think they are twins, but they are not. Vitali is the older of the two. He is five years older and one and a half inch taller than Wladimir.
Vitali was born in Belovodsk (Kyrgyzstan) given the Nickname “Dr. Ironfist.” He was the first to earn a Doctorate’s Degree. He was also the first to capture a world title, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Heavyweight Championship. He stands 6-foot-6 1/2 in height with a record of 39-2, 37 KO’s. He has over 24 knockouts inside of three rounds.
At the age of 13, Vitali put on a pair of boxing gloves for the first time. Vitali started his career as a successful kickboxer. He became a six-time Kickboxing World Champion twice as an amateur and four times as a professional. It was not until later when Vitali discovered his passion for the sport of boxing. As an amateur he became Ukrainian Heavyweight Champion three times. He also became champion of the first World Military Games and a winner of the Silver Medal at the Amateur World Championships.
In 1996 Vitali left the amateurs and started his career in professional boxing. He won his first title fight on October 24th 1998. It was a European championship were he defeated Mario Schieber by TKO in the 2nd round. That victory paved the way for an opportunity to fight for the World Heavyweight Title. On June 25th 1999 Vitali knocked out Herbie Hide in round 2 and became WBO- Heavyweight Champion of the World.
After holding the WBO- Championship Title for nearly a year, Vitali lost the title to
Chris Byrd. In round nine Vitali had to quit due to a severe injury to his shoulder. Up until that time the judges had Vitali ahead on all three scorecards. On April 24th 2004, at Staples Center in Los Angeles Vitali fought Corrie Sanders for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Title. After a different and entertaining fight Vitali won by TKO in round 8. By winning that fight Vitali was able to get revenge from the loss his brother Wladimir had suffered from Corrie Sanders a year before. “They called it big brothers revenge.”
At the height of Vitali’s success, he started to suffer more injuries in the ring. He defended his WBC Title against Danny Williams. He had a title fight scheduled with World Champion Hasim Rahman, but after being postponed several times the bout was later cancelled. In 2005, Vitali was plagued with more serious injuries. He had back-surgery and a damaged ligament in his right knee.
On November 9th 2005 Vitali retired as reigning WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World. After 3 years, Vitali returned back to the ring on October 11th 2008, in Berlin. His opponent was WBC- Champion, Samuel “Nigerian Nightmare” Peter from Nigeria. After 8 rounds of fighting Peter quit on his stool. Once again Vitali regained his WBC-Title for a second time. He has since successfully defended his belt against heavyweights Juan Carlos Gomez, Chris Arreola and Kevin Johnson.
Unlike Vitali, younger brother Wladimir was born in Semipalantinsk (Kazakhstan). Wladimir developed his passion for boxing at age 14. Three years later he was European Champion in his age division. He started building a successful career as an amateur. He became a five-time champion of Ukraine and won first place in the Military World Championships.
His outstanding achievement during his amateur career was winning a Gold Medal in the super heavyweight division during the Olympic Games of 1996 in Atlanta. That same year in November, Wladimir made his professional debut. He knocked out Fabian Meza in the first round. In 1999 Wladimir battered a helpless
Axel Schulz and became European Heavyweight Champion knocking out the German in eight rounds.
He reached his ultimate goal by a winning the WBO- Championship Title over Chris Byrd in October 2000. Over five years later Wladimir and Byrd fought again, this time for IBO and IBF-Titles. This time the Ukrainian dominated the fight, winning by TKO. Byrd took a brutal beating in that fight. Wladimir who’s Nickname “Dr. Steelhammer” currently holds the IBF,WBO,IBO and Ring Magazine World Titles. He’s 6 foot 5 with a record of 53-3, 47 KO’s.
Anyone who review the resumes of these two world-class heavyweight fighters can only think one thing, “How can the Klitschkos NOT be remembered as great heavyweights”? Well… there are many fans around the sport that think they will not be remembered as great heavyweights. Sad as it may sound the Klitschkos have not gotten the recognition a fighter needs to be remembered as great!
One of the biggest setbacks for the Klitschkos, is the era they’re fighting in. They do not have the competition that will bring out the best in them. When you look back on old Father Time- Muhammad Ali had the best competition ever in the heavyweight division. He had Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry and Larry Holmes who started as his sparring partner.
This was an era that covered two decades. If a fighter won a title fight against any of these fighters, they were remembered as a great heavyweight. These guys fought 15 rounds. I truly believe the heavyweight division will never experience an era like that ever again.
Gerry Cooney had Larry Holmes to bring out the absolute best in him and visa-versa. Those fights and the defining moments of the fight is what made those guys legends in the ring. The Mike Tyson era had Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, James “Buster” Douglas, Riddick Bowe, Andrew Golota, and Ray Mercer.
The fighters the Klitschkos have had for competition is not on the same level as the heavyweights of the past. The closest test was when Vitali met up with Lennox Lewis in June 2003 for a Title fight. That fight was very competitive and excited fans all over world. The fight had to be stopped because of a cut eyebrow to Vitali’s eye that could have caused permanent damage had the fight went on.
It’s the type of competition a fighter has around him that makes him great! Unfortunately, the Klitschkos suffer from a lack of good competition. It’s those defining moments when a fighter has to dig down deep within himself during big fights that make him great. A fighter does not have to win every bout to be considered great.
It’s not the Klitschkos fault that there are is no real competition in the heavyweight division to deliver those defining moments. To answer the question, will the Klitschkos be remembered as great heavyweights? At this point, “can only be judged in the eyes of the beholder”. In my opinion, there will always be mixed feelings about that question.