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Dr. Vitali Vladimirovich Klitschko (born July 19,
1971), known as "Dr. Iron Fist", is the Reigning
Boxing Champions|current World Boxing Council|WBC
heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He is
6'7.5" (201.93 cm.) tall, and was born in
Belovodsk, Kyrgyzstan, in the former Soviet Union.
His younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is also a
top heavyweight contender. Their father was a
VVS|Soviet Air Force Colonel, and their ethnicity
is Ukrainians|Ukrainian.

== Biography ==
Originally a professional Kickboxing|kickboxer,
Vitali was also a boxer and won the Super
Heavyweight Championship at the first World
Military Games in Italy in 1995. He began his
professional boxing career in 1996, winning his
first 24 fights by either early knockout or
technical-knockout (TKO).  He and Wladimir were
hot prospects, and had signed with the German
athlete-promotion company Universum.  After moving
to Germany and Universum, their charismatic,
refined (each holds a Ph.D.) and articulate (they
are multilingual) personalities made for
mainstream marketability; in time, they became
national celebrities in their adopted home
country.  In his 25th pro fight, on June 26,1999,
Klitschko won the World Boxing Organization
Heavyweight Championship from Herbie Hide (of
Great Britain) via 2nd-round knockout. He defended
the title twice before losing it on April 1, 2000
to American Chris Byrd; complaining of intense
shoulder pain, Vitali and his corner decided not
to continue the fight after Round Nine. 
Ironically, Vitali was ahead on all 3 judges'
scorecards (89-82, and 88-83 twice), but the way
he ended this match brought international
criticism, plus a reputation as a quitter - which
earned him the nickname by some of "Quitschko". 
He had surgery to repair the rotator cuff torn
during the bout.  In Byrd's next fight he was
dethroned by Wladimir (and knocked down in Rounds
9 and 11), avenging his elder brother.

Though saddled with this new reputation, Vitali
continued to fight his way up the ladder of
contenders.  On June 21, 2003, he fought Lennox
Lewis for his World Boxing Council|WBC world
Heavyweight Championship in Los Angeles. For the
first two rounds, Vitali dominated the fight
against Lewis (who seemed out of shape, unfocused,
and tired). In Round Three, Lewis landed a grazing
1-2 combo that caused a horrendous cut over
Klitschko's left eye. The next 3 rounds were give
and take; after Round Six, all 3 judges'
scorecards read 58-56 in favor of Klitschko. 
Before Round Seven, the ringside doctor inspected
the cut and thought it severe enough to threaten
eye damage if hit again.  He stopped the fight,
despite Klitschko's pleas to continue it (he
wanted to beat Lewis in the ring).  In a cruel
twist of fate, California's boxing regulations
stated that the winner had to be the opponent who
was medically approved to continue -- in this
case, Lewis.  Though he had lost on a
technicality, he gained international respect for
essentially outboxing the consensus World
Heavyweight Champion.  Afterward, it was revealed
that Vitali had an internal injury as well, but
fought on anyway; this redeemed him in most fans'
eyes, and many no longer thought he was a quitter.
 On December 6, 2003, Vitali returned to the ring
against Canadian Kirk Johnson (in Madison Square
Garden) and knocked him out in the 2nd round,
reclaiming his place as the WBC's number-one
contender.  Around this time, the Klitschkos moved
from Berlin to L.A.  The western U.S.'s premium
training facilities were now nearby, and they
could boost their profiles by mixing socially with
boxing insiders.  In January 2004, they notified
Universum that they would not re-sign when their
contracts expired in April.  Universum sued the
brothers, arguing that their recent injuries had
triggered a clause binding them beyond April.  The
suit was resolved in late 2004.  

Klitschko earned an 8th-round TKO victory over
South African Corrie Sanders on April 24, 2004, to
capture the World Boxing Council world Heavyweight
Championship (which Lewis had vacated two months
earlier, via retirement), in Los Angeles. Sanders
had soundly knocked-out (2nd Round) younger
brother Wladimir on March 8, 2003 for the WBO
Title; despite the bout with Vitali being for a
world title, few recognized Sanders as a
legitimate contender for the crown prior to the
bout with Wladimir (who himself had been regarded
as a top contender). Klitschko was rocked early by
the powerful Sanders, but by using movement and
strong punching he broke down Sanders and forced
the referee to stop the bout.  In a sport flooded
with under-educated competitors, the former Soviet
became the first world champion with a
post-graduate degree (in sports medicine; he was a
philosophy professor in Germany).

Vitali Klitschko's first world title defense was
against low-level British contender Danny Williams
(boxer)|Danny Williams (who had become marketable
overnight from a surprise K.O. of Mike
Tyson|"Iron" Mike Tyson).  Klitschko TKO'd
Williams in 8 rounds on December 11, 2004 while
wearing an orange cloth to show support for the
Ukrainian opposition.  Klitschko easily threw a
large amount of punches throughout the fight,
knocking Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and
8th rounds before the fight was mercifully
stopped.  Immediately afterwards, Klitschko
dedicated his victory to democracy in his native
Ukraine, and also to the Ukrainian presidential
candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in
the December 26, 2004 Ukrainian presidential
election, 2004|election revote.

Klitschko was then ordered to next face the winner
of a bout between Monte Barrett and former WBC /
IBF world Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman,
scheduled for August 13, 2005.  Klitschko was
supposed to defend against Rahman early in 2005,
but suffered back-to-back training injuries
(culminating in Spring back surgery).  The
Rahman-Barrett winner would be considered the
WBC's "Interim" Champion (i.e., he will hold the
title until Klitschko returns from rehab; then the
two must fight each other).  Vitali would be
stripped of his title if his first fight back was
against anyone else, or if he was not ready to
fight by the WBC's deadline.

Hasim Rahman ended up defeating Barrett in a
somewhat boring manner as both men were friends
and so neither was aggressive.  Rahman did enough
to earn the 12-round unanimous decision however,
and thus will face Klitschko for the WBC
Championship on November 12, 2005 in Las Vegas.

== Record ==
*Kickboxing|Amateur kickboxing:unknown
*Boxing|Amateur boxing:unknown
*Kickboxing|Professional kickboxing:unknown
*Boxing|Professional boxing: 34 wins (33 KOs) and
2 losses in 36 fights

== Career ==

*EBU (European) heavyweight champion
*WBO intercontinental heavyweight champion
{secondary title}
*WBA international heavyweight champion {secondary
title}
*WBO heavyweight champion
*WBC world heavyweight champion
*IBA World champion

Check out
http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=0
07033 for detailed info about his career record.

== Championships Won ==
* May 2, 1998 - Vacant WBO Intercontinental
Heavyweight Championship.  Defeated Dick Ryan by
5th round TKO.  Successfully defended title twice
before relinquishing title.
* October 24, 1998 - Vacant European Boxing Union
Heavyweight Championship.  Defeated Mario
Schiesser by 2nd round TKO.  Successfully defended
title once before relinquishing title.
* June 26, 1999 - WBO World Heavyweight
Championship.  Defeated Herbie Hide by 2nd round
knockout.  Successfully defended title twice
before losing title on April 1, 2000 to Chris
Byrd.
* November 25, 2000 - Vacant European Boxing Union
Heavyweight Championship.  Defeated Timo Hoffmann
by 12 round decision.  Did not successfully defend
title.
* January 27, 2001 - Vacant World Boxing
Association International Heavyweight
Championship.  Defeated Orlin Norris by 1st round
knockout.  Successfully defended title three times
before relinquishing title to face Lennox Lewis on
June 21, 2003 for the World Boxing Council and
International Boxing Organization World
Heavyweight Championships.
* April 24, 2004 - Vacant WBC World Championship. 
Defeated Corrie Sanders via 8th round TKO. 
* December 11, 2004 - First title defence.
Defeated Danny Williams (boxer)|Danny Williams in
the 8th round by TKO.

start box
succession box|
before=Herbie Hide|
title=List of heavyweight boxing champions|WBO
World Heavyweight  10th champion|
years=1999–2000|
after=Chris Byrd

succession box|
before=Lennox Lewis|
title=list of heavyweight boxing champions| WBC
Heavyweight boxing 23rd champion |

years=2004–|
after=—

end box

{| border="2" align="center"
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Previous
champion:
Zeljko Mavrovic
|width="30%" align="center"|EBU Heavyweight 64th
champion
October 24,1998  - 1999
|width="30%" align="center"|Next
champion:
Wladimir Klitschko
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Previous
champion:
Wladimir Klitschko
|width="30%" align="center"|EBU Heavyweight 66th
champion
November 25,2000 - 2001
|width="30%" align="center"|Next champion:
Luan
Krasniqi
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Previous
champion:
Pele Reid
|width="30%" align="center"|WBO Intercontinental
Heavyweight 4th champion
May 2,1998 - 1998
|width="30%" align="center"|Next
champion:
Danny Williams
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Previous
champion:
Wladimir Klitschko
|width="30%" align="center"|WBA International
Heavyweight 4th champion
January 27,2001 - 2002
|width="30%" align="center"|Next
champon:
Wladimir Klitschko
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Previous
champion:
Herbie Hide
|width="40%" align="center"|WBO World Heavyweight 
10th champion
June 26,1999 -April 1, 2000
|width="30%" align="center"|Next
champion:
Chris Byrd
|-
|width="30%" align="center"|Previous
champion:
Lennox Lewis
|width="40%" align="center"|WBC World Heavyweight
23rd champion
April 24,2004 - Now
|width="30%" align="center"|Next
champion:
—
|}