Born: March 25, 1976
Bouts: 69
Won: 64
Lost: 5
KOs: 53
Induction: 2021
Born on March 25, 1976 in Zhangiztobe, Kazakhstan.
The 6’6” Klitschko capped a 134-6 (65 KOs) amateur career by winning super heavyweight gold at the 1996 Olympic Games. He turned pro the same year in Germany under the guidance of Fritz Sdunek and tallied 24 straight wins before losing to Ross Purrity (TKO by 11). He rebounded with wins over Everett Martin, Axel Schulz and Monte Barrett, among others, before defeating Chris Byrd (W 12) for the WBO heavyweight title. Five successful defenses followed before being upset by Corrie Sanders (TKO by 2). Following the loss, he enlisted Emanuel Steward as trainer. Unsuccessful in a 2004 bid for the vacant WBO title against Lamon Brewster (TKO by 5), four fights later he stopped Byrd (TKO 7) for the IBF / IBO titles in 2006 to begin a dominate nine-year title reign that included 18 successful defenses. During this run, he regained the WBO title in 2008 from Sultan Ibragimov, logging 14 defenses and won the WBA “super” heavyweight title from David Haye in 2011 and recorded eight defenses. In 2015 he lost his titles to Tyson Fury (L 12) and retired following a thrilling bout with Anthony Joshua (TKO by 11).
Combining athleticism, a dominant jab and punishing power to register a 76.8 knockout percentage and more time spent as heavyweight champion than anyone in history (12 years, 2 days), “Dr. Steelhammer’s” pro record stands at 64-5 (53 KOs) and includes wins over Frans Botha, Ray Mercer, Jameel McCline, Samuel Peter, Hasim Rahman, Jean Marc Mormeck and Alexander Povetkin.
Wladimir Klitschko
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