He is the son of Nadiia Ulianivna Klychko (née Bulyno) and Volodymyr Rodionovych Klychko (1947–2011), a Soviet Air Force major general and a military attaché of USSR in East Germany. Klitschko was born in Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Semey, Kazakhstan). Klitschko was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame Class of 2021, having been elected in his first year of eligibility. In 2011, both Wladimir and Vitali entered the Guinness World Records book as brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins (30 at the time 40 as of 2020). He also holds records for the most wins and title defences of the unified championship in professional boxing history. 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.

He was also ranked among 10 best pound for pound boxers in the world by The Ring from 17 August 2010 until 23 November 2015, reaching his career peak of No.2 on 25 November 2014.ĭuring Klitschko's reign as world heavyweight champion, his fights regularly generated a global television audience of 300–500 million viewers. For a period of time in the fall of 2015, Klitschko was ranked as the world's best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec. After defeating Alexander Povetkin in October 2013 and until his loss to Tyson Fury in November 2015, Klitschko was recognised as the lineal champion by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. Following his defeat of Ruslan Chagaev in 2009, Klitschko was awarded the Ring title, and lastly he won the WBA title from David Haye in 2011. He won his second WBO title by defeating Sultan Ibragimov in 2008. In 2006, Wladimir regained a portion of the world heavyweight championship after defeating Byrd in a rematch to win the IBF and IBO titles. In particular, Steward was credited with Klitschko's transition from an aggressive puncher to a more defensively-oriented boxer, much as he had done with Lennox Lewis from 1995 to 2003.įrom 2004 to 2015, Wladimir and his brother Vitali Klitschko (himself a multiple-time world champion) dominated heavyweight boxing, a period typically known as the ' Klitschko Era' of the division. It was during this time that Klitschko hired Emanuel Steward as his trainer, which began an eight-year partnership that lasted until Steward's death in 2012. Klitschko's first reign as champion ended in an upset knockout loss to Corrie Sanders in 2003, which was followed by another upset knockout loss to Lamon Brewster in 2004. After turning professional later that year, he defeated Chris Byrd in 2000 to win the WBO heavyweight title. Īs an amateur, Klitschko represented Ukraine at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, quick hand speed, great physical strength which he employed when clinching opponents, as well as athletic footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.

A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.

He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine titles. Wladimir Klitschko (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017.

Klitschko brothers nude photo session