Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko: Five Facts You Need to Know

[Ruthless-RKO]

Without a doubt, the most dominant heavyweights of their generation, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko took over the sport at a time when a huge transition took place.

1. The Klitschko’s ended with a combined record of 109-7, with a stunning 94 knockouts to their name.

2. Vitali held a record of 34-2 in kickboxing and was once KO’d by Pele Reid in the European Championships final.

3. Vitali missed the 1996 Olympics because of a failed drugs test which he attributed to medication for a leg injury.

4. Wladimir won gold at those games in the super-heavyweight category where he beat Paea Wolfgramm 7-3 in the final.

5. Wladimir holds a top university degree and speaks four languages - Ukrainian, Russian, English and German.

[littlepug]

The Pele Reid ko is on youtube, looked effing brutal !

[Noxy]

Did Vitali quit kickboxing after that? I assume Wlad took Vitali’s place on the team, and then won the gold

[Ruthless-RKO]

Did Vitali quit kickboxing after that? I assume Wlad took Vitali’s place on the team, and then won the gold

Did Wlad take up kick boxing too?

[Noxy]

Did Vitali quit kickboxing after that? I assume Wlad took Vitali’s place on the team, and then won the gold

Did Wlad take up kick boxing too?

Fair cop squire

[Boxing Writer]

The Pele Reid ko is on youtube, looked effing brutal !

Yes. I think others iron-chinned guys like MaCall and Wach would also get KTFO'ed if they were hit by such a kick. Although Wach was never knocked down neither in boxing (fights and sparrings) nor in kickboxing, but he was probably never got hit like that in kickboxing. Just imagine if David Price was hit with such a cick:

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Don't know if the guy was DQed or not, but those spin kicks were deemed illegal under the rules of engagement of that match.

I would also point out the obvious, Vitali also speaks the same 4 languages as Wlad and also has a PhD as well. The original article might as well been a grass is green, sky blue, and water wet facts we didn't know, but know it alls gotta strut no matter the dubious content.

[Kalan]

Pele Reid didn't make in professional Boxing... He was basically a kick guy and hand strikes were not his expertise.

If Reid was DQ'd for that illegal kick, as BroughtonRulesRefuge explains -- that might explain why Vitali's Kickboxing record is generally represented as 35-1 and not 34-2.

[Boxerbeetle]

- Don't know if the guy was DQed or not, but those spin kicks were deemed illegal under the rules of engagement of that match.

I would also point out the obvious, Vitali also speaks the same 4 languages as Wlad and also has a PhD as well. The original article might as well been a grass is green, sky blue, and water wet facts we didn't know, but know it alls gotta strut no matter the dubious content.

Funnily enough, Boxing News had an interview with Pele Reid a couple of days ago where they discuss this incident. Here’s the relevant extract (full link to the interview at the end):

“Vitali was the full-contact champion and his poster was everywhere,” remembered Reid. “But this was point scoring. It was all about hitting as much as you can without getting hit. You weren’t supposed to knock each other out, but you could hurt each other.

“Vitali was a big guy and when I saw him before the final, I remember him smirking at me. But I was confident
I could go in and out and beat him.”

In the second round, Reid did what he wasn’t supposed to do. He put Klitschko flat on his back with a spinning round kick.

“They were going to disqualify me,” said Reid. “I remember the officials talking about it. But they decided my technique was good and there was no intention to knock him out, so they gave me the win.

“What I achieved that day was my greatest achievement in my competitive sporting career. It never got any better than that.

“Even now, people, young people who weren’t even born when it happened, ask me about knocking out Vitali. You should see how people react to me after they’ve seen it on You Tube.

“I was told Vitali was denying it happened, so someone put it on there and now just about every day, someone comes up to me and says: ‘I never knew you fought Vitali’.”

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/when-yo ... -accident/

[gilgamesh]

1. They're Tall

2. They're Athletic

Those are key points you overlooked. Right Kalan

[Kalan]

Nope.... Vitali was the champ... Reid was the chump... Vitali made 10's of millions in Boxing... Reid didn't achieve much in the full contact arena... That double-cross of Vitali is his claim to fame... This was like an exhibition... Vitali fought many full-contact Kickboxing matches, but this fight was supposed to be light-contact fight so the blow was illegal...

Vitali wasn't trying to KO Pele Reid or hit him hard.... But Reid obviously set him up.... I actually believe Reid was DQ'd because that is reflected of Vitali Klitschko's Kickboxing record which is represented most often as 35-1...

It's like Johnson vs Ketchel.... Johnson promised he wouldn't knock Ketchel out... The sly Ketchel tried to get the KO.

[Ambling Alp II]

Without a doubt, the most dominant heavyweights of their generation, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko took over the sport at a time when a huge transition took place.

1. The Klitschko’s ended with a combined record of 109-7, with a stunning 94 knockouts to their name.

2. Vitali held a record of 34-2 in kickboxing and was once KO’d by Pele Reid in the European Championships final.

3. Vitali missed the 1996 Olympics because of a failed drugs test which he attributed to medication for a leg injury.

4. Wladimir won gold at those games in the super-heavyweight category where he beat Paea Wolfgramm 7-3 in the final.

5. Wladimir holds a top university degree and speaks four languages - Ukrainian, Russian, English and German.

Here are 5 more:
1. Wladimir got stopped by Ross Purritty
2. Wladimir got stopped by Corrie Sanders
3. Wladimir got stopped by Lamon Brewster
4. Vitaly got stopped by Chris Byrd
5. Vitaly got stopped by Lennox Lews

Here is a bonus one:
People make a lot of crybaby excuses for the Klitschkos

[Caractacus]

Vladimir knocked himself out in his fight with Ross Purrity because he didn't pace himself.

The fight with Lamon Brewster,
There are rumours of some funny buisness going on,with some type of application
that made Vladimr get real tired all the sudden after dominating the fight.

Vitali tore his rotater cup by throwing a vicious punch that missed fighting Chris Byrd,
so he pretty much knocked himself out too.

Vitali was hit by a freak punch as he was pulling back from a long ultra-extended Lennox Lewis punch
that had some "English on it,so he knocked himself out too.

[Ruthless-RKO]

With the Klits, thers like 10 times more positive, if not more, than negative.

After Wlads loss to Brewster, he fought much tougher guys.

[Caractacus]

The Revenge

[Kalan]

Without a doubt, the most dominant heavyweights of their generation, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko took over the sport at a time when a huge transition took place.

1. The Klitschko’s ended with a combined record of 109-7, with a stunning 94 knockouts to their name.

2. Vitali held a record of 34-2 in kickboxing and was once KO’d by Pele Reid in the European Championships final.

3. Vitali missed the 1996 Olympics because of a failed drugs test which he attributed to medication for a leg injury.

4. Wladimir won gold at those games in the super-heavyweight category where he beat Paea Wolfgramm 7-3 in the final.

5. Wladimir holds a top university degree and speaks four languages - Ukrainian, Russian, English and German.

Here are 5 more:
1. Wladimir got stopped by Ross Purritty
2. Wladimir got stopped by Corrie Sanders
3. Wladimir got stopped by Lamon Brewster
4. Vitaly got stopped by Chris Byrd
5. Vitaly got stopped by Lennox Lews

Here is a bonus one:
People make a lot of crybaby excuses for the Klitschkos

Here's a few more bonuses crybaby Alp... Wladimir was loaded with technical flaws for his early losses but became a lot better fighter than anyone who beat him by upping his game... Puritty, Sanders Brewster, Byrd and Lewis lost worse then the K Bros did... and none of them have a winning ratio or a KO ratio as high as Vitali's

Vitali may have 2 official losses but he was never out-boxed or out-punched... Or knocked down in any boxing match or ever behind on points after any boxing match... He was winning after his 2 losses by unanimous scores. He was only ever beaten by injuries... and in the case of Lewis, injuries caused by fouls, meaning he should have won a TD

Here's the thumb strike, head grabbing and head-work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdOteT5G0Q

[Ambling Alp II]

Vladimir knocked himself out in his fight with Ross Purrity because he didn't pace himself.

The fight with Lamon Brewster,
There are rumours of some funny buisness going on,with some type of application
that made Vladimr get real tired all the sudden after dominating the fight.

Vitali tore his rotater cup by throwing a vicious punch that missed fighting Chris Byrd,
so he pretty much knocked himself out too.

Vitali was hit by a freak punch as he was pulling back from a long ultra-extended Lennox Lewis punch
that had some "English on it,so he knocked himself out too.

I'm not sure if you are serious or not. I said that people are often making crybaby excuses for the Klitschkos and you immediately did just that.
If you are kidding,

[gilgamesh]

Vladimir knocked himself out in his fight with Ross Purrity because he didn't pace himself.

The fight with Lamon Brewster,
There are rumours of some funny buisness going on,with some type of application
that made Vladimr get real tired all the sudden after dominating the fight.

Vitali tore his rotater cup by throwing a vicious punch that missed fighting Chris Byrd,
so he pretty much knocked himself out too.

Vitali was hit by a freak punch as he was pulling back from a long ultra-extended Lennox Lewis punch
that had some "English on it,so he knocked himself out too.

They accused the cut man of having too much Vaseline on him or some sh*t which didn't allow him to breathe.

It was a lame excuse.

The Bottom line is he just punched himself out. He beat the living sh*t out of Brewster for 4 rounds, but he was attacking so heavily going for the KO that he simply exhausted himself, and when Brewster was still standing, and firing back at him he didn't have anything left to come back at him with. That's why all of his fights afterward he began to fight at such a measured pace because he never wanted this to happen to him again.

He lost to Brewster. But he did what good fighters do, and learned WHY he lost, and didn't repeat the mistake.

[Kalan]

Vladimir knocked himself out in his fight with Ross Purrity because he didn't pace himself.

The fight with Lamon Brewster,
There are rumours of some funny buisness going on,with some type of application
that made Vladimr get real tired all the sudden after dominating the fight.

Vitali tore his rotater cup by throwing a vicious punch that missed fighting Chris Byrd,
so he pretty much knocked himself out too.

Vitali was hit by a freak punch as he was pulling back from a long ultra-extended Lennox Lewis punch
that had some "English on it,so he knocked himself out too.

I'm not sure if you are serious or not. I said that people are often making crybaby excuses for the Klitschkos and you immediately did just that.
If you are kidding,

No you're the cry baby.... Vitali was never knocked down and was always unanimously winning on the cards after all of his fights... but you're going to say he beat himself when he suffered injuries many other boxers suffered... He shoulder gave him problems in training camp for Byrd, but he thought he could get through the fight... He couldn't because the rotator cuff assembly ripped in 2... The surgeon said it was in 2 pieces and he'd never seen that before... Despite those 2 official losses, Vitali has the best winning ratio of any retired Heavyweight Champion with over 10 Title Fights.

Lewis's punch wasn't "ultra-extended" with English on it... It was an illegal thumb strike.... followed by an illegal head grab.... followed by illegally rubbing the head and hair in the eye to worsen the nick the thumb strike opened.... followed by holding-n-hitting and palming the eye to slash open two deep cuts on the eyelid and one on the cheek as you can see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdOteT5G0Q

You don't "ultra extend" a right hand by swatting down with the forearm at the elbow... and rotate your wrist just as your thumb catches the eyelid on the corner of the eye... A legal straight right is thrown behind the shoulder straight in not swatted... If you were doing a seminar on how to throw thumb strikes, this video is perfect.

[Caractacus]

But can you imagine the pain and anguish that Vitali Klitschko must have been in
the second after he viously tore the cartilage and ligaments in his rotator cuff
and being in the middle of a fight ?
I wonder if someone could vid-cap the moment that happened from the video.

[SteveO]

Here's the thumb strike, head grabbing and head-work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdOteT5G0Q

Thanks for posting the link Kalan.
The video doesn't lie. Now whether that was intentional or not is open for debate.

[Caractacus]

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[Caractacus]

I originally thought that the cut came from a "freak punch" while watching it live on HBO.
That's what you call " a slice".
what other fights were stopped because of a punch like that ?

[Ambling Alp II]

Gee that is so convincing. Clearly Lewis should have been disqualified.

[Kalan]

Here's the thumb strike, head grabbing and head-work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdOteT5G0Q

Thanks for posting the link Kalan.
The video doesn't lie. Now whether that was intentional or not is open for debate

Whether a foul is intentional or not, if the cut stops the fight, you go to the scorecards if 4 rounds have elapsed... Ward-Kessler went to the scorecards because an accidental head motion butted open a cut.... Ward won a Unanimous Technical Decision because more than 4 rounds were already boxed...

But in this case you can clearly see the swatting motion that referees are told to look for... You have a much better chance of catching your opponent's eye with the thumb if you swat down with the forearm and swipe at the eye with your thumb in a rotating motion... If you're trying to hit him with the end of the fist (legal punch) you throw straight from the shoulder.

Then right after the thumb strike you see 3 more fouls... Next the illegal head grab.... Then the illegal head and hair rub in the eye to open the nicked cut up to get some blood flow.... Then the holding-n-hitting double foul with the palm rake.

When they came out of that "clinch" initiated by Louis, Vitali's blood was flowing all over the place... That all happened in the first 30 seconds of the 3rd round... After Lewis was badly staggered by right hands in the first 2 rounds and Steward told him "He's winning the fight" .... and then told him to push Vitali and so forth... Pushing is another foul.