Biography of boxer and politician Vitali Klitschko. Biography of Vitali Klitschko How tall is Vitali Klitschko

Vitaliy Klitschko is a famous Ukrainian boxer who was and remains one of the most prominent professionals in his sport. His victories in the ring glorified Ukraine, and also made the talented fighter one of the most successful athletes in the entire history of Ukrainian sports.

Vitali Klitschko is a unique boxer and a unique personality. In this person, strength and intelligence, courage and patriotism coexist equally organically. That is why our today’s hero has achieved outstanding success not only in the field of professional sports, but also in many other industries - politics, show business, etc. All these facts make the personality of the great Ukrainian giant truly bright and interesting. Therefore, our article today, dedicated to his fate and career, will certainly find its readers.

Early years, childhood and family of Vitali Klitschko

The great Ukrainian athlete was born on July 19, 1971 in the small village of Belovodskoye in Kyrgyzstan. His ancestors came from an impoverished Cossack family and all of them came from the Kiev region.

It is known for certain that the athlete’s great-grandfather, as well as Vitaly’s other paternal ancestors, were repressed by the Soviet government. Part of his family died during the infamous famine. Maternal ancestors had Jewish roots, and therefore were shot by German troops during the Second World War. The father of our today's hero was a military man, and therefore changed his place of residence quite often.

Following him, the entire family of the future boxer constantly moved. That is why our today’s hero lived only a short time in Kyrgyzstan. Already in 1980, Vitali Klitschko moved to the Czech town of Mimon, where he subsequently lived until 1985. After the father of the famous Ukrainian athlete was transferred to the reserve, the entire family of the future boxer moved to their homeland in Ukraine.

As for his sports career, it began quite early for Vitaly. Since childhood, he has been involved in various types of martial arts, among which kickboxing has long stood out. In competitions in this sporting discipline, Klitschko became the world champion a total of six times (two times among amateurs and four among professionals). At this stage of his career, Vitaly had 35 fights, of which he won thirty-four.

The best knockouts of Vitali Klitschko

In 1995, our today’s hero decided to take up boxing and very soon completely switched to this sport. In the same year 1995, the talented Ukrainian athlete won the title of world champion among military personnel, and also received the right to represent Ukraine at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. However, that time the Olympics took place without him. The reason for this was an old injury, in the treatment of which the athlete used some medications, including prohibited steroids.

Despite this episode, Vitali Klitschko's amateur boxing career was generally very successful. That is why in 1996, our today’s hero, together with his brother Vladimir Klitschko, decided to take up this sport professionally.

Sports career of boxer Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Klitschko's path in the boxing ring was full of many bright and truly legendary victories. During his enchanting career, our today's hero fought forty-seven fights, of which forty-five were victorious for him.

Moreover, the boxer won forty-one victories by knockout. In this context, it is worth especially noting the fact that the Ukrainian boxer himself not only never found himself knocked out, but was never even knocked down! And this is for my entire career!

Vitali Klitschko's path in professional sports is filled with a huge number of bright achievements and impressive titles. In his life, the Ukrainian boxer held the title of world champion according to the WBO version (1999-2000), according to the authoritative sports publication The Ring (2004-2005), as well as according to the WBC version (2004-2005, 2008-present). Our today's hero still holds the title of world champion according to the World Boxing Council.

Vitali Klitschko communicates with paid students in Odessa

In addition, the boxer is a Hero of Ukraine, as well as the owner of many state awards and orders (including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree).

Careers in other industries. Vitali Klitschko: politics and art

In 2003, the talented Ukrainian fighter, together with his brother, created the Klitschko Brothers Charitable Foundation, which has been developing sports in Ukraine for ten years. In addition, our today's hero can boast of some striking achievements in the field of art.

With the active support of Vitaly and Vladimir Klitschko, the musical “Rocky” was staged in Germany.

As a producer and actor, the famous athlete also took part in the work on the biographical film “Klitschko,” which was shot by German director Sebastian Denhardt in 2011. In addition to this, our today’s hero performed cameo roles in several more full-length films.

Political career, Vitali Klitschko now

In recent years, Vitaliy Klitschko has been actively building a successful political career. Over the years, he was an adviser to the President of Ukraine, a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, and also the chairman of the Vitali Klitschko Impact party, which is part of the Ukrainian parliament. Currently, he is active as a member of the Verkhovna Rada, as well as a permanent commission on certain issues of local government.

In August 2013, the great Ukrainian fighter announced that in 2015 he was going to run for the post of President of Ukraine.

Personal life of Vitali Klitschko

In 1996, Vitali Klitschko married former model Natalya Egorova. In this marriage, three children were born - sons Egor (born 2000) and Maxim (born 2005), as well as daughter Elizaveta-Victoria (born 2002).

Vitaly’s brother, Vladimir Klitschko, is also a professional boxer.

Born on July 19, 1971 in the village of Belovodskoye, Kyrgyz SSR. The athlete fights in the super heavy weight category. The physical data of Vitali Klitschko are as follows: height 200 cm, weight 112 kg. Throughout his biography, Vitali Klitschko earned 35 victories. Of these, 34 fights were won by knockout.

Having moved with his family to Ukraine as a child, Vitaly became interested in martial arts. However, a more serious interest in kickboxing, discipline, desire to win, and perseverance contributed to winning the title of world champion in kickboxing.

The athlete graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute in 1995, then graduated from graduate school at the National University of Physical Culture and Sports. There, in 2000, Vitaly defended his candidate’s dissertation on the topic “Boxing: theory and methodology of sports selection.”

Vitaly began playing sports professionally in 1996. Vitaly became the world champion in kickboxing among professionals four times, and twice more among amateurs. In addition, Vitaly won second place at the World Championships and first place at the World Military Games.

In 1998, the boxer began to fight in America, then competed for the Universum Box-Promotion club, achieving prestigious titles. In the same year, Vitali Klitschko was recognized as the WBO intercontinental champion. Thanks to the very short time of the fights (most of which were won by knockout), Vitali Klitschko was included in the Guinness Book of Records. 1998 was rich in victories in the biography of Vitali Klitschko. In the autumn of the same year, the athlete won the European champion title.

There were defeats in Vitaly’s sports career. The first fight he lost was the fight with Chris Byrd, in which Klitschko injured his shoulder.

After his 2002 fight with Larry Donald, Vitali Klitschko was given the WBA world title. The legendary victory in the fight with Lewis further strengthened Klitschko’s authority among athletes and fans. Thanks to his victory over Corrie Sanders in 2004, Vitaly was awarded the WBC world title. Having this honorary title, the boxer announced his retirement from the sport.

However, in 2007, Vitaly resumed his career. The first fight did not take place as a result of disagreements. The next fight with Jamil McClain was canceled due to Vitaly's injury. In March 2008, Klitschko lost to Samuel Peter, but Vitali intends to meet the new WBC world title holder again.

Vitaly, together with his brother Vladimir, founded the International Fund for the Development of Sports, designed to help athletes and coaches. In addition to his passion for sports, Vitaly is involved in political activities. Klitschko is a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, being the head of the Vitaliy Klitschko Bloc. In 2006, he ran for mayor of Kyiv and took second place in the elections. Vitaliy Klitschko has several national awards: the Order of Merit, the Order of Courage, and bears the title of Hero of Ukraine.

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Where Vitaly began to seriously engage in sports.

In 1988 he graduated from school No. 69 in Kiev, then served in the army and studied at the Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky State Pedagogical University named after Grigory Skovoroda, after which he continued to serve as an officer in the Ukrainian army. In 1996, he was retired with the rank of Air Force captain.

Candidate of Sciences in Physical Education and Sports.

In January 2011 he graduated from the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine. Received a master's degree in "Management of Social Development".

Vitaly began his career as a successful kickboxer.

In November 1996, after a successful career in amateur boxing (95 wins, 80 knockouts, 15 losses), he made his debut in the professional ring at the same time as his brother Vladimir.

In 1999, Klitschko won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) world title, but lost it the following year to Chris Byrd.

In 2004, having defeated Corrie Sanders, he became the world champion according to the World Boxing Council (WBC). With this title, he announced the end of his sports career in November 2005.

Since December 2012, he has also been the leader of the UDAR political party faction in the Verkhovna Rada.

In 1999, he was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the first world heavyweight champion to win 26 fights by knockout in the fewest number of rounds. Thus, Klitschko broke the previous record, held by Mike Tyson.

He was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, the Order of Merit, 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree, the Order of Courage, and the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Winner of the prestigious Laureus World Academy of Sports award in the Comeback of the Year category for his fight with Samuel Peter in 2008 after a four-year break in his career. For active participation in the international UNESCO program "Education for Children", Vitali Klitschko was awarded the title "Hero for Children".

Vitaliy Klitschko is married, his wife is Natalya, he has children: sons Egor (born in 2000) and Maxim (born in 2005), daughter Elizaveta Victoria (born in 2002).

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Vitali Klitschko is one of the best boxers in the world, whose success in the ring still amazes fans of this sport. Out of 47 fights, the athlete was defeated only twice. Since 2014, Vitaliy Klitschko has been the mayor of Kyiv, who is known not only for his political and social achievements, but also for his quotes that have gone viral on the Internet.

Childhood and youth

Vitali Klitschko was born on July 19, 1971 in the village of Belovodskoye in the territory of the former Kyrgyz SSR. His father was a military man, his mother worked as a primary school teacher. Later, Vitaly’s parents gave him a younger brother, who also later became interested in boxing.

Because of his father’s profession, the Klitschkos often moved to different cities and visited other countries. Since 1984, the family settled in the Ukrainian SSR. Here Vitaly begins to seriously engage in sports.

In the same 1999, Vitali Klitschko won the world champion title according to the World Boxing Organization (WBO), but lost it the following year to the American Chris Byrd. In a duel with him, Vitaly suffered the first defeat in his professional career.

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On June 21, 2003, a fight took place with Briton Lennox Lewis in Los Angeles. The American media called this fight a “battle of gladiators.” The results of the meeting are still considered controversial, and the British victory is called unfair.

In 2004, having defeated American Corey Saunders, Vitaly became the world champion according to the World Boxing Council (WBC). With this title, he unexpectedly announced his retirement from his sports career in November 2005.

The first fight after a three-year pause took place in December 2008 in Germany - then the Ukrainian boxer fought with Samuel Peter, the WBC champion. Later, Klitschko had 9 more fights, finally ending the sports period of his biography in 2012.

Policy

After leaving boxing, Vitaly Vladimirovich became interested in politics. In April 2006, he was elected as a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, in October of the same year he was appointed advisor to the President of Ukraine, since the athlete was a supporter of the “Orange Revolution”.

In April 2010, he was elected head of the political party UDAR (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms).

During Euromaidan, the presence of a world-famous athlete on the barricades inspired people to believe in victory. Many believed in Klitschko, considering him a strong leader who is capable of changing the situation for the better and leading the Ukrainian nation to prosperity. In 2014, 56.7% of voters voted for Vitali Klitschko, electing him mayor of the capital of Ukraine.

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Klitschko’s program included 5 main directions, including the transparent use of the Kyiv budget, the fight against corruption, constant dialogue with citizens, and increasing the comfort of living in the Ukrainian capital. The former athlete was not able to fulfill all his political promises. Thus, the increase in utility bills led to general indignation among city residents.

Having taken the post of mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko more than once surprised those around him with his statements. His absurd remarks gained great popularity on the Internet. The former athlete knows about such popularity: Vitali Klitschko once even planned to publish his statements in Russia in the form of a book in order to use the proceeds to provide the residents of Kiev with the missing warmth. Klitschko’s most popular phrases are considered to be his message to the people of Kiev, in which he called on the inhabitants of the city to “get ready for the land”, making a reservation in the word “winter”. Also of interest was Klitschko’s “philosophical reflection” on the topic of “tomorrow”:

“And not everyone can look at tomorrow today. Or rather, not only everyone can watch. Few people can do this."

Personal life

The personal life of Vitali Klitschko is not hidden behind seven locks from the press, as sometimes happens in political circles. It is known that since April 26, 1996, the current mayor of Kyiv has been officially married to a former fashion model and athlete

Family

Born into the family of a military man, a descendant of an impoverished Cossack family, a native of the Kiev region. His great-grandfather and other relatives on his father’s side suffered during the repressions against the rural population of Ukraine in 1920-30, part of the family died during the famine, and his great-grandfather and his family on his father’s mother’s side were shot by the Germans during Holocaust in the 1940s.

Vitaliy Klitschko is married, his wife is Natalya, he has children: sons Egor (born 2000) and Maxim (born 2005), daughter Elizaveta-Victoria (born 2002).

Younger brother is a professional boxer Vladimir Klichko, holder of world heavyweight boxing titles.

Biography

Vitaliy Klitschko was born on July 19, 1971 in the village of Belovodskoye in Kirghiz SSR. In 1984, the Klitschko family moved to Ukraine, where Vitaly began to seriously engage in sports. In 1988 he graduated from school No. 69 in Kyiv, then served in the army and studied at Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky State Pedagogical University named after Grigory Skovoroda, after which he continued to serve as an officer in the Ukrainian army.

In 1996, he was retired with the rank of Air Force captain.

Candidate of Sciences in Physical Education and Sports. Graduated in January 2011 National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine. Received a master's degree in "Management of Social Development".

Vitaly began his sports career as a kickboxer. In November 1996, having achieved success in amateur boxing (95 wins, 80 knockouts, 15 losses), he made his debut in the professional ring at the same time as his younger brother Vladimir.

In 1999, Klitschko won the title world champion according to the World Boxing Organization (WBO), but lost it the following year Chris Bird.

In 2004, having won Corey Saunders, became the world champion according to the World Boxing Council (WBC). With this title, he announced the end of his sports career in November 2005.

In 2007, Vitali Klitschko announced his return to the ring, but due to a back injury, participation in fights was postponed. Vitaliy Klitschko is a world professional boxing champion according to WBO (1999-2000) and WBC (2004-2005, 2008 - 2013).

On September 9, 2012, Vitali Klitschko defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title, defeating a German representative in Moscow Manuel Chara. Since then, the boxer has not entered the ring.

On December 16, 2013, Vitali Klitschko was declared an honorary champion by the World Boxing Council (WBC). Klitschko is a six-time world champion in kickboxing, three-time champion of Ukraine in boxing, champion of the First World Military Games, silver medalist of the World Amateur Boxing Championship, and multiple European champion among professionals.

Vitaliy Klitschko was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, the Order of Merit 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree, the Order of Courage, and the title of Hero of Ukraine. In 1999, he was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the first world heavyweight champion to win 26 fights by knockout in the fewest number of rounds. Thus, Klitschko broke the previous record, which was held by Mike Tyson.

In 2003, Vitali Klitschko and his brother Vladimir founded a charitable organization "Klitschko Brothers Foundation". Vitaly is also a co-founder of the promotion company of the Klitschko brothers "K2 Promotions", which holds international boxing tournaments.

Winner of the prestigious World Academy of Sports "Laureus" award in the "Comeback of the Year" nomination for the fight with Samuel Peter(Samuel Peter) in 2008 after a four-year career break. For active participation in the international program UNESCO"Education for Children", Vitali Klitschko was awarded the title "Hero for Children".

Political activity

In April 2006, Vitaliy Klitschko was elected as a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, in October 2006 he was appointed advisor to the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko.

Vitali Klitschko unsuccessfully ran for office twice mayor of Kyiv(in 2006 and 2008). After the early elections of the mayor and the City Council in the spring of 2008, Vitali Klitschko’s bloc doubled its representation in the city council.

In April 2010 he headed a political party "HIT"(Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms). In October 2012, the party received 42 parliamentary seats in the parliamentary elections, and Klitschko himself headed the faction.

In May 2013, "UDAR" party "Fatherland" and the radical nationalist All-Ukrainian Association "Freedom" agreed on joint actions in the upcoming elections and on the nomination of a single presidential candidate.

On August 14, 2013, the boxer announced that he plans to stand as a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. In November 2013, the day before Euromaidan, Klitschko visited Paris twice for consultations with the French Foreign Ministry Laurent Fabius.

At the end of November 2013, together with (Batkivshchyna) and Oleg Tyagnibok(“Svoboda”) led mass protests in the country.

On December 30, 2013, Vitaliy Klitschko submitted an application to Ukrpatent to register a trademark for himself "Euromaidan".


On January 25, 2014, the President of Ukraine invited Vitaliy Klitschko to take the post of Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs. Klitschko refused the offer, citing the president’s reluctance to make concessions.

On February 1, 2014, together with other opposition leaders, he took part in the Munich Conference, where he had meetings with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry and European officials.

On February 21, 2014, Vitaliy Klitschko, on the opposition side, signed an Agreement on Crisis Resolution with the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.

On March 29, 2014, Vitali Klitschko refused to participate in the upcoming presidential elections, announced his support for the candidacy and his participation in the elections of the mayor of Kyiv.

During the elections of the Kyiv city mayor from the UDAR party, he took first place, 765,020 voters (56.70%) voted for his candidacy.

On June 25, by decree of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, he was also appointed head of the Kyiv City State Administration.

On July 9, Vitaliy Klitschko presented the “Program of Priority Steps of the Mayor of Kyiv,” which he intends to implement in the next year and a half. It consists of 5 areas: the fight against corruption, optimal and transparent use of the budget, attracting investment, increasing the comfort and safety of life in the city, publicity in decision-making and maintaining a constant dialogue with citizens.

Having become mayor, Klitschko increased tariffs for housing and communal services for Kiev residents by one and a half to two times and turned off hot water in the city. The temporary shutdown of hot water was decided due to the termination of the Russian gas supply to Ukraine starting on June 16, after which hot water began to be turned off in Kyiv in order to save gas for heating apartments in winter.

In November 2014, the mayor of Kyiv said that the government was keeping the capital on the brink of bankruptcy. If in 2005 400 million UAH were withdrawn from Kyiv in favor of the central budget, then this year the deductions amount to 9 million UAH, which is more than 20 times.

"Despite the fact that Kyiv forms 30% of the state budget of Ukraine, the city budget remains empty today. The capital's budget deficit is about UAH 2 billion. The previous government introduced absurd mechanisms for budgetary relations between the capital and the central government. And the current government takes advantage of this and patches up holes in the state budget at the expense of local budgets", Klitschko emphasized.

On August 28, 2015, Vitali Klitschko joined the party "Petro Poroshenko's Solidarity Bloc". 60 out of 68 delegates of the second stage of the 12th extraordinary congress of the party "Petro Poroshenko Bloc" "Solidarity", which was held jointly with the party, unanimously voted for the corresponding draft decision "Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms (UDAR) of Vitaliy Klitschko".

In addition, the delegates voted for 18 members of the UDAR party to join the BPP party. At the same time, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc Solidarity party elected Vitali Klitschko as its chairman. The congress delegates voted on the proposal Lutsenko for the termination of his powers as chairman of the party and the central council of the party and elected Klitschko to these positions.

Income

In 2012, V. Klitschko earned total income within the country in the amount of 11,204 hryvnia, and outside Ukraine (in Germany) for 2012 - $5 million. He transferred all the money he earned in Ukraine (11,204 hryvnia) to the Romashka orphanage. At the same time, the public organization Anti-Corruption Council of Ukraine notes that Klitschko did not declare the income and property of family members.

The Klitschko brothers own the 11 Mirrors Hotel on the street. B. Khmelnitsky (Kyiv), which was opened in 2012. The cheapest hotel room costs 195 euros per night, the most expensive - 455 euros.

Scandals, oddities

In early March 2014, a number of news agencies and media reported on the close collaboration of Vitali Klitschko and his brother Vladimir with the leader of one of the most brutal gangster groups that ruled Kiev in the 1990s - OCG of Viktor Rybalko("Fish").

Since the beginning of his political career, Vitaly regularly makes curious slips of the tongue on live television, thereby demonstrating an inability to speak publicly and making strange, contradictory or even meaningless statements.


However, as RIA Novosti reports, the request of the leader of the Ukrainian UDAR party was not appreciated in Germany. Klitschko's press secretary blamed the language barrier. Allegedly, the boxer-politician wanted to say that the experience of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall is very important for Ukraine.

As Klitschko himself said, " Not everyone can see today into tomorrow. Or rather, not only can everyone watch, few people can do it"Not everyone can understand the essence of the statements of the Ukrainian boxer politician. For example, in order to save electricity in winter, he called on Kiev residents to “get ready for the ground.”

On the air of the Ukrainian TV channel TSN, Vitaliy Klitschko said: “ I have two deputies, four of whom have been in the cabinet for a month now, and who cannot be appointed. I do not know why". Probably because it is difficult to choose four from two, especially when they have been bedridden for a month.

Another time, on the air of the Inter TV channel, Klitschko said: “ I want to draw everyone's attention. I have met many police officers who have died, people and protesters who have died, and everyone is asking the question...".

Not long ago, Klitschko became the center of a new scandal: Ukrainian media reported that the mayor of Kyiv was having a wonderful time on the Israeli coast of the Dead Sea, eating lobster and enjoying foot massages and alcohol, while Kiev residents fear the coming of winter and survive without hot water. Housing and communal services problems faded into the background before a good holiday in excellent company. Andrei Portnov, a former assistant to the ousted president, shared this information and Klitschko’s phone number on social networks so that everyone could ask him questions.

In November, the mayor of Kyiv said that " Father Frost- a relic of Soviet times." According to the politician, Ukrainians should be congratulated on the New Year not by an outdated storyteller, but by St. Nicholas. The celebration of the New Year according to the new plan has already been approved by the Kyiv administration.