Klitschko brothers
[2][6] Known for their exceptionally large physiques, speed, and punching power, they each developed a style that utilized their athleticism and arm reach to break down opponents.
[7] Wladimir continued to successfully defend the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring magazine titles until he was defeated by Tyson Fury in 2015.
[10] As an amateur, Wladimir Klitschko represented Ukraine at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division.
[11] In 1996, when still an amateur, Vitali Klitschko tested positive for a banned substance and was removed from the Ukrainian boxing team.
[12] In June 1999, Vitali Klitschko won the WBO Heavyweight title from Herbie Hide via second-round knockout.
Vitali Klitschko lost his fight with Lennox Lewis in his attempt to win the WBC, IBO, The Ring and lineal heavyweight championships.
Vitali faced South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004 for the WBC heavyweight championship and The Ring belts that had been vacated by Lewis.
In his comeback fight in Berlin on October 11, 2008 he defeated Samuel Peter to regain the title of WBC world heavyweight champion.
Vitali retained the WBC Heavyweight Championship until 15 December 2013, relinquishing his belt in pursuit of his political aspirations in his native Ukraine.
The brothers have a combined professional boxing record of 109 wins (94 KO's) and 7 defeats, including 46 world title fights.
[3][4][5] Considered national heroes in Ukraine, in 2008 the Klitschko brothers were ranked number 15 in Inter's list of the 100 Greatest Ukrainians following a nation-wide poll that saw around 2.5 million people casting their votes.
[44] Eighteen of their fights generated above 10 million average viewers, and Wladimir's world heavyweight title defense against Eddie Chambers in March 2010 drew bigger viewership numbers on RTL than the return of the Formula One legend voted the greatest German athlete of the 20th century[45][46] Michael Schumacher.
[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63] Known for charity work and philanthropy, the Klitschkos are two of only 15 living current or former athletes that have been named UNESCO Champions for Sport.
Wladimir Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, and amongst the hardest punching knockout artists in history.
[89] During Wladimir's reign as world heavyweight champion, his fights would reportedly draw up to 500 million viewers worldwide.
Just like his brother, Wladimir was elected in his first year of eligibility, having been chosen over Miguel Cotto and James Toney by a panel of around 200 international boxing historians.
[129][130] A criticism of the Klitschkos is that their dominant championship reign was the result of a heavyweight landscape devoid of world class competition.
Previous heavyweight eras had multiple boxers considered world class fighters competing, such as Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman during the 1970s, and Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield during the 1990s.
[133] Wladimir Klitschko's style receives strong criticism from the boxing community, commonly being described as "boring" or "robotic".
[134] While initially an exciting fighter, a series of losses led him to hire legendary boxing trainer Emmanuel Steward to cultivate his defensive abilities.
