From Seconds Out:
By James Slater: Exactly 21 years ago today (July 19th) one of British boxing’s best known and admired heavyweights got his first-ever crack at the world championship. Franklin Roy Bruno challenged Tim Witherspoon for the World Boxing Association’s version of the heavyweight championship of the world. What followed was a very memorable and hard-fought title bout.
Big Frank had the advantage of fighting his first-ever world title fight at home. His bout with Philadelphia’s “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon was held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Britain desperately wanted a heavyweight champion and Bruno, who the public had very much taken to, what with his seemingly ego-free and down to earth personality, was given a great shot to do the honors in his fight with Witherspoon. Tim was a fine fighter, to be sure, but at the weigh-in for the fight he sported a physique that wasn’t what one could in any way call chiseled. More so than he had done in the past, Tim looked somewhat flabby. While in comparison, Frank’s body was absolutely rock solid - as usual. One thing, Frank could always be relied upon for training hard in the gym. Bruno never failed to enter a fight in tip top shape. Could the muscle man defeat the more experienced, yet possibly out-of-shape WBA champion?
On July the 19th, 1986, a packed out crowd at Wembley sat with their fingers crossed and hoped for the best. Britain had not had a heavyweight ruler for almost 100 years and as such, the pressure on Frank was massive. He simply had to win. The overwhelming feeling was how could such an ill-trained man beat Britain’s biggest sporting hero? Bruno could punch too. In his previous appearance in the ring he had dispatched former champ Gerrie Coetzee in a single round. The South African may have been past his best, but this was still a fine showing from Bruno. One that convinced many, a Brit, would at last get his hands on a heavyweight championship after such a long time. It was all up to Frank.
Muhammad Ali was at ringside, and in a lovely pre-fight moment, he and one-time rival - Britain’s only other contender for best loved British heavyweight boxer - Henry Cooper, met in ring centre. Ali playfully pretended to remove his jacket, and get ready to fight. Henry pointed to his eyebrows and smiled, signaling to the scar tissue he had picked up in his two bouts with The Greatest. It was great nostalgia. Then it was down to business for the present day combatants.
With the crowd in rapturous form, Frank started well. The pace was really quite frenetic. There was no way this fight was going to go the distance. The question was who would last better? Witherspoon was far from unbeatable. He had lost, in a brilliant effort it must be said, to all-time great Larry Holmes back in his first attempt at becoming a world champ, in 1983. He had also lost, on points, to Pinklon Thomas, so he could be beaten. He had never been stopped though and his chin was known to be very reliable. As for Bruno, he had been stopped once - his only loss. This had come in crushing fashion against one of Tim’s vanquished foes, the big-punching James “Bonecrusher” Smith. While a mile ahead on points, Bruno had been caught in the tenth and final round and beaten to brutal defeat. He had also been extremely badly shaken in a winning effort against Floyd “Jumbo” Cummings. Was Frank’s chin his only vulnerability or was his stamina questionable also? We found out in round eleven.
Witherspoon, despite not having an aesthetically pleasing a body as Bruno, was a far more natural fighter. He was very well equipped in the ability to relax in the ring. Frank, on the other hand was very tight. The size of the occasion perhaps adding to his tension, Bruno was running on empty after ten rounds. He had acquitted himself well in these rounds, but one had the sense that Witherspoon was biding his time, sure that the muscle-bound Bruno would hit the wall eventually. This was indeed the case. In round eleven, both guys connected with big right hands to the head. Tim, however, held his punch much better than Frank - whose chin, along with his stamina, proved to be somewhat suspect. This combination of fatigue and a less than granite jaw was too much for the challenger. He crumbled into a corner and Witherspoon - pounding away at a barely standing target - gave the referee, Isidro Rodriguez, no choice but to dive in. Tim was still the WBA heavyweight champion. Britain would have to wait a while longer yet before its drought was ended.
Witherspoon had fought a far from perfect fight and Bruno had tried with all his might - in the process showing that he was definitely world class. But the difference was Tim was comfortable in the ring, while the sometimes stiff looking Bruno was far from the same. In the end, he took considerable punishment and it is testament to his courage and determination that he carried on with his career as long as he did. Many were ready to write him off as a big punching, but china-chinned fighter after the loss. Big Frank proved them wrong though.
Witherspoon lost his very next fight, in a rematch with “Bonecrusher” Smith. This time, instead of boxing to a comfortable unanimous decision, Tim was stopped in one shocking round. This prompted some to suggest that he may have lost on purpose, as a way of freeing himself from the clutches of his promoter, Don King. Tim, famously, had been extremely disgruntled with the amount of money he cleared from the Bruno fight. Maybe he did, at least subconsciously, hand his title to the man he had previously beaten with relative ease.
As for Bruno, he battled on for another nine years before finally making his dream of becoming heavyweight champion a reality. After crushing KO defeats at the hands of Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis (who had ended Britain’s long wait for a heavyweight boss in 1992), Frank out-pointed Lewis’ conqueror, Oliver McCall in 1995. He had achieved his goal on the fourth attempt.
Frank remains one of Britain’s best loved sportsmen to this very day.
July 19th
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scappoosejohn
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July 19th
"A champion, a true champion is to take on all capable challengers. A true champion defends his title, and looks for matches that pose a threat in order to prove to the world he deserves to be called the best of the best."
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straycat
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1940- Tony Zale KO 13 Al Hostak, Seattle. Wins NBA middleweight title.
1981- Hwan Jin Kim KO 13 Pedro Flores, Taegu, S. Korea. Wins WBA junior flyweight title.
1986" (Terrible" Tim Witherspoon KO 11 Frank Bruno, London. Retains WBA heavyweight title. (Awesome Article posted by Scapp above).
1987- Jose Luis Ramirez W 12 Terrence Alli, St. Tropez. Regains vacant WBC lightweight title.
1987- Seung Hoon Lee KO 5 Leon Collins, Pohang, S. Korea. Retains IBF junior featherweight title.
1990- Robert Daniels W 12 Craig Bodzianowski, Seattle. Retains WBA cruiserweight title.
1990- Lindell Holmes KO 9 Carl Sullivan, Seattle. Retains IBF super middleweight title.
1997- Willam Guthrie KO 3 Darrin Allen, Indio, CA. Wins vacant IBF light heavyweight title.
1997- Tim Austin KO 8 Mbulelo Botile, Nashville, TN. Wins IBF bantamweight title.
1997- Frankie Liles W 12 Zafarou Ballogou, Nashville, TN. Retains WBA super middleweight title.
Born On This Day
1971- Vitali Klitschko (born in Belovodsk, Kirghiz USSR)
Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC world heavyweight champion. He has the highest knockout percentage (95%) of any heavyweight boxing champion in overall fights. He also holds the distinction of being a three time world heavyweight champion, having previously held the WBO and WBC titles, and has never been knocked out or knocked down in any professional boxing bout.
His younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is the current IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine world heavyweight champion. Vitali is the first professional boxing world champion to hold a Ph.D. (in sports science).
Vitali Klitschko has recently announced that he intends to retire from professional heavyweight boxing at the end of 2010. As a result of his success he has been awarded Germany's highest award Federal Cross of Merit.
Originally Klitschko was a kickboxer, with a record of 34-1 with 22 knockouts. In November, 1993, he took part in the world amateur championship of WAKO, held at Atlantic City, New Jersey. He got defeated by KO from Pele Reid with the back-spin-kick at the final match of the 89 kg class. However, as a professional kickboxer, Klitschko won the super heavyweight championship at the first World Military Games in Italy in 1995. In that same year, he won the silver medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin Germany, where he was defeated by Russia's Alexei Lezin in the final. His amateur record was 195-15 with 80 knockouts.
Klitschko began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical knockout (TKO). He and Wladimir signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding Ph.D.s and being multilingual, their refined and articulate personalities made for mainstream marketability when they moved to Germany and Universum. In time, they became national celebrities in their adopted home country. In his 25th pro fight, on 26 June 1999, Klitschko won the WBO heavyweight title from Herbie Hide of the United Kingdom by a 2nd round knockout.
He successfully defended the title twice before a April 1, 2000 match against American Chris Byrd. Complaining of shoulder pain, Vitali and his corner threw in the towel after the ninth round despite carrying a lead on all three judges' scorecards (89-82, and 88-83 twice). Klitschko, who was later diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, received much criticism for quitting the fight.
Klitschko rebounded from his loss to Byrd by reeling off five victories in a row, earning himself a shot at WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 21, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. It proved to be a tremendous fight. Klitschko, a 4-1 underdog, dominated the early going and stunned Lewis in the second round with two hard rights. In the third, Lewis landed a big right hand of his own that opened a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye. Klitschko was able to rally and regain control of the fight,[citation needed] but the cut continued to worsen. Lewis who had weighed in at his career heaviest for the fight was breathing heavily after a few rounds. Both men traded big shots and in the sixth Lewis got through with two tremendous uppercuts. Before the seventh round, the ringside doctor inspected the wound and deemed it severe enough to threaten eye damage if struck again, stopping the fight despite Klitschko's pleas to continue. Klitschko was ahead on all three scorecards 58-56 (4 rounds to 2) at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis and not a headbutt, Lewis won by technical knockout. Lewis was booed when he was announced the winner. Klitschko, despite the loss, gained international respect for fighting so well against the heavyweight champion for 6 rounds. Negotiations for a December 6 rematch began. For years after this fight, Klitschko would still occasionally call out Lewis, despite the fact that Lewis has been retired since early 2004, for a rematch.
Around this time, the Klitschko brothers moved from Hamburg, Germany to Los Angeles, California.
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 ultimately resolved in favour of the Klitschkos in November 2009.
Following the retirement of Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko was seen as the number 1 heavyweight in the world.
Klitschko earned an 8th-round TKO victory over South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004, to capture the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship which had been vacated by Lewis. Sanders had knocked out (2nd Round TKO) younger brother Wladimir on 8 March 2003. This fight was also for The Ring Magazine belt. Klitschko was rocked early by Sanders, but by using movement and strong punching he broke down Sanders and forced the referee to stop the bout.
Vitali Klitschko's first WBC title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a KO over an ageing Mike Tyson in round 4. Klitschko scored a technical knockout against Williams in 8 rounds on 11 December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko knocked Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was stopped. Immediately afterward, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine, and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in the 26 December 2004, election revote.
On 9 November 2005, Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing and vacated his title. He cited regrets about his suddenly-mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top, and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine. Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return. Klitschko retired with a career knockout ratio of 92 percent (34 knockouts in 37 bouts). He has never been knocked down or received a standing count.
In the German Bild-Zeitung, he announced on 24 January 2007 his comeback and requested to fight again. But because of a number of health problems, Klitschko backed out from a number of bouts scheduled for him.
On 3 August 2008, the WBC awarded Klitschko a chance to regain his WBC Heavyweight title. After Vitali's retirement his younger brother had established dominance in the division winning two of the four world titles available. The reigning WBC champion was Samuel Peter (who had lost a decision to Wladimir in 2005) At the time there was interest in a potential Peter vs Wladimir unification match. Instead Vitali took advantage of his champion emeritus status and secured a title challenge against Peter. The fight was arranged on 11 October 2008 at o2 world Berlin. It would be one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in the past few years. Both men had a rightful claim to being the champion and the stakes for the future of the heavyweight division were high. Despite some questioning Vitali's decision to return after four years, he managed to regain his title in dominating fashion. Klitschko had Peter intimidated from the first round and stunned him with accurate hard punches. Klitschko kept the hard punching Nigerian off with an effective left jab and took control in the centre of the ring. Over eight rounds Klitschko completely dismantled and outfought the younger champion. After the eighth round Peter slumped on his stool shook his head and asked that the bout be stopped. With this victory, Klitschko became one of the few men to ever hold a version of the world heavyweight championship three times. WBO (1999–2000), WBC (2004–2005) WBC (2008–Present), joining Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer.
In 2009, Klitschko successfully defended his WBC Heavyweight title three times. On 21 March Klitschko defeated Juan Carlos Gomez by TKO in the ninth round. Gomez tried to use his movement to thwart Vitali but seemed unable to cope with the power and physical strength of his opponent. The referee stopped the fight in the ninth round as Gomez appeared unable to withstand any more punishment.On 26 September, Klitschko earned a one sided TKO victory over Chris Arreola at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California when Arreola's trainer, Henry Ramirez called a stop to the fight.[10] Arreola was considered at the time one of the divisions hardest punchers however,Klitschko kept Arreola at bay with his left jab and hit him almost at will with the right. On 12 December Vitali defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision winning almost every round. Johnson, a skillful fighter, tried to negate Klitschko's strength with angles and head movement. Though he proved hard to hit he failed to launch any sustained attack of his own. After the Johnson bout, Klitschko's camp began negotiations for a potential fight with fomer WBA Champion Nikolai Valuev, but the match failed to materialise due to economic disagreements.
On 24 February 2010, Klitschko stated that 2010 will be his final year as a professional boxer. Klitschko then defended his WBC belt against Albert Sosnowski on May 29 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Klitschko won the fight by knockout in the 10th round, against a brave but limited opponent. With the fourth defense of his WBC crown, Vitali improved his record to 40-2, with 38 of his wins coming by knockout.
After the bout, Klitschko stated he would like to fight either David Haye or the Russian giant Nikolai Valuev next. According to Klitschko's camp, the Ukrainian boxer has repeatedly tried to challenge Haye to schedule a potential fight. In June negotiations for a potential fight with Valuev resumed. A few months before the Russian boxer turned down Klitschko's offer and the match was put in jeopardy. This time the older of the Ukrainian brothers reportedly offered him $ 1.5 million dollars and Valuev has yet to accept.
Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning. Vitali has commented that "chess is similar to boxing. You need to develop a strategy, and you need to think two or three steps ahead about what your opponent is doing. You have to be smart. But what's the difference between chess and boxing? In chess, nobody is an expert, but everybody plays. In boxing everybody is an expert, but nobody fights."
Vitali and his brother also have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to support the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries.
In his autobiography, published in Germany in 2004, the boxer revealed that he tested positive for a banned substance (steroid) in 1996. He attributed the presence of the drug to treatment of a leg injury but was dismissed from the Ukranian boxing team and missed the Atlanta Olympics . His brother Wladimir moved up from heavyweight to super-heavyweight to take his place in the squad.
Klitschko began campaigning for mayor of Kiev shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to Leonid Chernovetsky but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko. Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform associated with Pora party. Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, he was elected as a people's deputy to the Kiev City Council. In the May 2008 Kiev local election he ran again and won 18% of the vote. His party, Vitaliy Klychko Bloc, won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again he was elected into the Kiev City Council. His campaign hired Rudy Giuliani to consult the campaign. In 2008 he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe.
Klitschko became a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform in April 2010.
His father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko, was a Soviet Air Force Colonel. His mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna. Klitschko is married to Natalia Egorova, a former athlete and model. They met in Kiev and got married in April 1996. He has three children, Yegor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max (named after the former World Heavyweight Champion Max Schmeling).
In 1996, he graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at Kiev University. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports" at the Kiev University of Physical Science and Sports, and his Ph.D. in Sports Science was conferred.
1981- Hwan Jin Kim KO 13 Pedro Flores, Taegu, S. Korea. Wins WBA junior flyweight title.
1986" (Terrible" Tim Witherspoon KO 11 Frank Bruno, London. Retains WBA heavyweight title. (Awesome Article posted by Scapp above).
1987- Jose Luis Ramirez W 12 Terrence Alli, St. Tropez. Regains vacant WBC lightweight title.
1987- Seung Hoon Lee KO 5 Leon Collins, Pohang, S. Korea. Retains IBF junior featherweight title.
1990- Robert Daniels W 12 Craig Bodzianowski, Seattle. Retains WBA cruiserweight title.
1990- Lindell Holmes KO 9 Carl Sullivan, Seattle. Retains IBF super middleweight title.
1997- Willam Guthrie KO 3 Darrin Allen, Indio, CA. Wins vacant IBF light heavyweight title.
1997- Tim Austin KO 8 Mbulelo Botile, Nashville, TN. Wins IBF bantamweight title.
1997- Frankie Liles W 12 Zafarou Ballogou, Nashville, TN. Retains WBA super middleweight title.
Born On This Day
1971- Vitali Klitschko (born in Belovodsk, Kirghiz USSR)
Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC world heavyweight champion. He has the highest knockout percentage (95%) of any heavyweight boxing champion in overall fights. He also holds the distinction of being a three time world heavyweight champion, having previously held the WBO and WBC titles, and has never been knocked out or knocked down in any professional boxing bout.
His younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is the current IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine world heavyweight champion. Vitali is the first professional boxing world champion to hold a Ph.D. (in sports science).
Vitali Klitschko has recently announced that he intends to retire from professional heavyweight boxing at the end of 2010. As a result of his success he has been awarded Germany's highest award Federal Cross of Merit.
Originally Klitschko was a kickboxer, with a record of 34-1 with 22 knockouts. In November, 1993, he took part in the world amateur championship of WAKO, held at Atlantic City, New Jersey. He got defeated by KO from Pele Reid with the back-spin-kick at the final match of the 89 kg class. However, as a professional kickboxer, Klitschko won the super heavyweight championship at the first World Military Games in Italy in 1995. In that same year, he won the silver medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin Germany, where he was defeated by Russia's Alexei Lezin in the final. His amateur record was 195-15 with 80 knockouts.
Klitschko began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical knockout (TKO). He and Wladimir signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding Ph.D.s and being multilingual, their refined and articulate personalities made for mainstream marketability when they moved to Germany and Universum. In time, they became national celebrities in their adopted home country. In his 25th pro fight, on 26 June 1999, Klitschko won the WBO heavyweight title from Herbie Hide of the United Kingdom by a 2nd round knockout.
He successfully defended the title twice before a April 1, 2000 match against American Chris Byrd. Complaining of shoulder pain, Vitali and his corner threw in the towel after the ninth round despite carrying a lead on all three judges' scorecards (89-82, and 88-83 twice). Klitschko, who was later diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, received much criticism for quitting the fight.
Klitschko rebounded from his loss to Byrd by reeling off five victories in a row, earning himself a shot at WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 21, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. It proved to be a tremendous fight. Klitschko, a 4-1 underdog, dominated the early going and stunned Lewis in the second round with two hard rights. In the third, Lewis landed a big right hand of his own that opened a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye. Klitschko was able to rally and regain control of the fight,[citation needed] but the cut continued to worsen. Lewis who had weighed in at his career heaviest for the fight was breathing heavily after a few rounds. Both men traded big shots and in the sixth Lewis got through with two tremendous uppercuts. Before the seventh round, the ringside doctor inspected the wound and deemed it severe enough to threaten eye damage if struck again, stopping the fight despite Klitschko's pleas to continue. Klitschko was ahead on all three scorecards 58-56 (4 rounds to 2) at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis and not a headbutt, Lewis won by technical knockout. Lewis was booed when he was announced the winner. Klitschko, despite the loss, gained international respect for fighting so well against the heavyweight champion for 6 rounds. Negotiations for a December 6 rematch began. For years after this fight, Klitschko would still occasionally call out Lewis, despite the fact that Lewis has been retired since early 2004, for a rematch.
Around this time, the Klitschko brothers moved from Hamburg, Germany to Los Angeles, California.
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 ultimately resolved in favour of the Klitschkos in November 2009.
Following the retirement of Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko was seen as the number 1 heavyweight in the world.
Klitschko earned an 8th-round TKO victory over South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004, to capture the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship which had been vacated by Lewis. Sanders had knocked out (2nd Round TKO) younger brother Wladimir on 8 March 2003. This fight was also for The Ring Magazine belt. Klitschko was rocked early by Sanders, but by using movement and strong punching he broke down Sanders and forced the referee to stop the bout.
Vitali Klitschko's first WBC title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a KO over an ageing Mike Tyson in round 4. Klitschko scored a technical knockout against Williams in 8 rounds on 11 December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko knocked Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was stopped. Immediately afterward, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine, and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in the 26 December 2004, election revote.
On 9 November 2005, Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing and vacated his title. He cited regrets about his suddenly-mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top, and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine. Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return. Klitschko retired with a career knockout ratio of 92 percent (34 knockouts in 37 bouts). He has never been knocked down or received a standing count.
In the German Bild-Zeitung, he announced on 24 January 2007 his comeback and requested to fight again. But because of a number of health problems, Klitschko backed out from a number of bouts scheduled for him.
On 3 August 2008, the WBC awarded Klitschko a chance to regain his WBC Heavyweight title. After Vitali's retirement his younger brother had established dominance in the division winning two of the four world titles available. The reigning WBC champion was Samuel Peter (who had lost a decision to Wladimir in 2005) At the time there was interest in a potential Peter vs Wladimir unification match. Instead Vitali took advantage of his champion emeritus status and secured a title challenge against Peter. The fight was arranged on 11 October 2008 at o2 world Berlin. It would be one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in the past few years. Both men had a rightful claim to being the champion and the stakes for the future of the heavyweight division were high. Despite some questioning Vitali's decision to return after four years, he managed to regain his title in dominating fashion. Klitschko had Peter intimidated from the first round and stunned him with accurate hard punches. Klitschko kept the hard punching Nigerian off with an effective left jab and took control in the centre of the ring. Over eight rounds Klitschko completely dismantled and outfought the younger champion. After the eighth round Peter slumped on his stool shook his head and asked that the bout be stopped. With this victory, Klitschko became one of the few men to ever hold a version of the world heavyweight championship three times. WBO (1999–2000), WBC (2004–2005) WBC (2008–Present), joining Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer.
In 2009, Klitschko successfully defended his WBC Heavyweight title three times. On 21 March Klitschko defeated Juan Carlos Gomez by TKO in the ninth round. Gomez tried to use his movement to thwart Vitali but seemed unable to cope with the power and physical strength of his opponent. The referee stopped the fight in the ninth round as Gomez appeared unable to withstand any more punishment.On 26 September, Klitschko earned a one sided TKO victory over Chris Arreola at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California when Arreola's trainer, Henry Ramirez called a stop to the fight.[10] Arreola was considered at the time one of the divisions hardest punchers however,Klitschko kept Arreola at bay with his left jab and hit him almost at will with the right. On 12 December Vitali defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision winning almost every round. Johnson, a skillful fighter, tried to negate Klitschko's strength with angles and head movement. Though he proved hard to hit he failed to launch any sustained attack of his own. After the Johnson bout, Klitschko's camp began negotiations for a potential fight with fomer WBA Champion Nikolai Valuev, but the match failed to materialise due to economic disagreements.
On 24 February 2010, Klitschko stated that 2010 will be his final year as a professional boxer. Klitschko then defended his WBC belt against Albert Sosnowski on May 29 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Klitschko won the fight by knockout in the 10th round, against a brave but limited opponent. With the fourth defense of his WBC crown, Vitali improved his record to 40-2, with 38 of his wins coming by knockout.
After the bout, Klitschko stated he would like to fight either David Haye or the Russian giant Nikolai Valuev next. According to Klitschko's camp, the Ukrainian boxer has repeatedly tried to challenge Haye to schedule a potential fight. In June negotiations for a potential fight with Valuev resumed. A few months before the Russian boxer turned down Klitschko's offer and the match was put in jeopardy. This time the older of the Ukrainian brothers reportedly offered him $ 1.5 million dollars and Valuev has yet to accept.
Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning. Vitali has commented that "chess is similar to boxing. You need to develop a strategy, and you need to think two or three steps ahead about what your opponent is doing. You have to be smart. But what's the difference between chess and boxing? In chess, nobody is an expert, but everybody plays. In boxing everybody is an expert, but nobody fights."
Vitali and his brother also have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to support the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries.
In his autobiography, published in Germany in 2004, the boxer revealed that he tested positive for a banned substance (steroid) in 1996. He attributed the presence of the drug to treatment of a leg injury but was dismissed from the Ukranian boxing team and missed the Atlanta Olympics . His brother Wladimir moved up from heavyweight to super-heavyweight to take his place in the squad.
Klitschko began campaigning for mayor of Kiev shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to Leonid Chernovetsky but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko. Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform associated with Pora party. Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, he was elected as a people's deputy to the Kiev City Council. In the May 2008 Kiev local election he ran again and won 18% of the vote. His party, Vitaliy Klychko Bloc, won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again he was elected into the Kiev City Council. His campaign hired Rudy Giuliani to consult the campaign. In 2008 he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe.
Klitschko became a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform in April 2010.
His father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko, was a Soviet Air Force Colonel. His mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna. Klitschko is married to Natalia Egorova, a former athlete and model. They met in Kiev and got married in April 1996. He has three children, Yegor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max (named after the former World Heavyweight Champion Max Schmeling).
In 1996, he graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at Kiev University. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports" at the Kiev University of Physical Science and Sports, and his Ph.D. in Sports Science was conferred.
Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote: Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.
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straycat
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To add to Vitaly Klitschko's Birthday entry.
On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Shannon Briggs on 16 October of that year. Klitschko completely dismantled his challenger with superior hand speed. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds. Klitschko had retained his belt with official scores of 120–107, 120–105, and 120–107.
During the post-fight interview, the American boxer said: “I’ve fought George Foreman, I’ve fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali’s the best.” While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps.
Klitschko's next fight was against mandatory challenger Odlanier Solis. The bout was tentatively scheduled for March 2011.
On 11 January, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Klitschko and Solis was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March 2011. The fight lasted less than one whole round as a right hand to Solis's temple wobbled Solis, who then twisted his knee. Klitschko won by TKO.
Klitschko is scheduled to defend his WBC Heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on 10 September 2011 in Poland.
Here are highlights from Witherspoom/Bruno
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lYeBQYIZnnc" frameborder="0"></iframe>
On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Shannon Briggs on 16 October of that year. Klitschko completely dismantled his challenger with superior hand speed. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds. Klitschko had retained his belt with official scores of 120–107, 120–105, and 120–107.
During the post-fight interview, the American boxer said: “I’ve fought George Foreman, I’ve fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali’s the best.” While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps.
Klitschko's next fight was against mandatory challenger Odlanier Solis. The bout was tentatively scheduled for March 2011.
On 11 January, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Klitschko and Solis was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March 2011. The fight lasted less than one whole round as a right hand to Solis's temple wobbled Solis, who then twisted his knee. Klitschko won by TKO.
Klitschko is scheduled to defend his WBC Heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on 10 September 2011 in Poland.
Here are highlights from Witherspoom/Bruno
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lYeBQYIZnnc" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!
ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote: Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.