BoxRec - User contributions [en]

Vitali Klitschko

2015-11-29T21:00:09Z

Earl:

[[File:VK 01 2048.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Vitali Klitschko]]
<boxer>007033</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Fritz Sdunek]] 
'''Manager:''' Self 
'''Cut Man:''' [[Joe Souza]]

'''Vitali Klitschko''' (Ukrainian: ''Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko'') is a former [[WBO]], [[WBC]] and [[Ring Magazine|Ring Magazine]] World Heavyweight Champion.

'''[[:Category:Vitali Klitschko Gallery|Vitali Klitschko Gallery]]'''

==Amateur Career==
*Klitschko won 195 of 210 amateur bouts.
*1994 Ukrainian Super Heavyweight representative at the World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. Results:
** Defeated [[Young Hyu Ahn]] (South Korea) RSCH-5
** Lost to [[Svilen Rusinov]] (Bulgaria) PTS (9-10)
*1994 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at the Military World Championships in Tunis, Tunisia.
** Lost to [[Alexei Lezin]] (Russia) PTS (1-10) in the final
*1995 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Results:
** Defeated [[Gitas Juskevicius]] (Lithuania) RSC-2
** Defeated [[Attila Levin]] (Sweden) RET-2
** Defeated [[Rene Monse]] (Germany) PTS (6-5)
** Lost to [[Alexei Lezin]] (Russia) PTS (3-12)
*1995 Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the Military World Championships in Ariccia, Italy. Results:
** Defeated [[Kenneth Horsley]] (USA) RET-1
** Defeated [[Svilen Rusinov]] (Bulgaria) RSC-1
** Defeated [[Alexei Lezin]] (Russia) PTS (10-6)

==Doping Suspension==
Klitschko tested positive for a banned substance in 1996, received a two-year suspension and was thrown off the Ukrainian boxing team for the Atlanta [[Olympics]]. He had planned to box at super heavyweight while his younger brother, [[Wladimir Klitschko]], planned to compete as a heavyweight. Wladimir, who was struggling to make weight, took over the super heavyweight slot and went on to win the gold medal.

Klitschko revealed in his 2004 autobiography that he turned to steroids after aggravating an old leg injury he had sustained in a kickboxing tournament. He said he went to a Ukrainian doctor who gave him something that would heal it, but he didn't check the doping list.

==Professional Career==
Klitschko knocked out [[Herbie Hide]] in two rounds to win the [[WBO]] heavyweight title on [[Herbie Hide vs. Vitali Klitschko|June 26, 1999]]. He lost the title to [[Chris Byrd]] in his third defense on [[Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Byrd|April 1, 2000]]. Klitschko, comfortably ahead on points, retired after the ninth round due to an injured shoulder. It was his first loss after 27 consecutive knockout wins.

Klitschko fought [[Lennox Lewis]] for the [[WBC]] and [[Ring Magazine]] heavyweight titles on [[Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko|June 21, 2003]]. He was a late substitute for [[Kirk Johnson]], who pulled out of the fight because of an injury. Klitschko gave Lewis a much tougher fight than most expected. However, Lewis opened bad cuts over both of Klitschko's eyes, which led to the fight being stopped after the sixth round. Klitschko was ahead 58-56 on all three official scorecards.

After Lewis retired, Klitschko stopped [[Corrie Sanders]] in eight rounds to win the vacant [[WBC]] and [[Ring Magazine]] heavyweight titles on [[Vitali Klitschko vs. Corrie Sanders|April 24, 2004]]. Klitschko's first title defense was an eighth-round TKO of [[Danny Williams]] on [[Vitali Klitschko vs. Danny Williams|December 11, 2004]]. He was then scheduled to face [[Hasim Rahman]] on April 30, 2005, but the fight was postponed when Klitschko pulled a muscle in his upper thigh while jogging. The fight was rescheduled for June 18, but pushed back again because the thigh muscle wasn't fully healed. The next date, July 23, had to be changed after Klitschko had minor back surgery. The fourth date for the fight was November 12, but Klitschko then injured his knee while sparring and had to have surgery. Promoter [[Bob Arum]] said the fight could be rescheduled for March 2006, but Klitschko, frustrated by his injuries, announced his retirement on November 9, 2005.

At the [[WBC]] gala on December 20, 2005, Klitschko was appointed "Champion Emeritus." The status gave him the right to become the "immediate mandatory official challenger" if he chose to fight again.

Klitschko returned to the ring to face [[Samuel Peter]] for the [[WBC ]] heavyweight title on [[Vitali Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter|October 11, 2008]]. It was his first fight in 46 months. Klitschko dominated the fight, and Peter retired in his corner after the eighth round.

During his second reign as WBC heavyweight champion, Klitschko successfully defended the title nine times. He defeated [[Juan Carlos Gomez]], [[Chris Arreola]], [[Kevin Johnson]], [[Albert Sosnowski]], [[Shannon Briggs]], [[Odlanier Solis]], [[Tomasz Adamek]], [[Dereck Chisora]] and [[Manuel Charr]].

On December 16, 2013, Klitschko vacated the WBC heavyweight title. He said he doesn't expect to fight again as he pursues a presidential bid in his home country of Ukraine. The WBC once again named him "Champion Emeritus."

Klitschko had a record of 15-2 in world title fights and was 7-2 against former, current or future world champions.

==Political Career==
Klitschko ran for mayor of Kiev and the Ukrainian parliament in 2006. The elections were held on March 26. He campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.

He was a supporter of Viktor Yushchenko and his party, ''Our Ukraine''. Klitschko was seen at Yushchenko's side during the 2004 Orange Revolution, which ultimately resulted in Yushchenko's election as president.

Klitschko received 26% of the vote in the mayoral election. He was ahead of incumbent mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko, but trailed businessman Leonid Chernovetskiy. Klitschko's aspirations for parliament were also unsuccessful, as his party received less than 3% of the vote, which was necessary to earn representation in parliament. However, Klitschko was elected as a people's deputy to Kiev City Council.

Klitschko is the head of the UDAR (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform) political party, which he founded on April 24, 2010.

He won election to Ukraine's parliament on December 15, 2012.

On October 24, 2013, Klitschko announced that he will run for president of Ukraine in 2015.

On March 29, 2014, Klitschko pulled out of the presidential race and announced that he would run for mayor of Kiev.

Klitschko was elected mayor of Kiev on May 25, 2014. He received 57.6 percent of the vote. On November 16, 2015, Klitschko was re-elected with 66.5 percent of the vote.

==Titles Held==
[[File:Klitschkos138044076.jpg|right|400px|thumb|The Klitschko Brothers]]
*[[WBO]] Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title (1998)
*[[EBU]] (European) Heavyweight Title (1998-1999, 2000)
*[[WBO]] Heavyweight Title (1999-2000)
*[[WBA]] Intercontinental Heavyweight Title (2001-2003)
*[[WBC]] Heavyweight Title (2004-2005, 2008-2013)

==Miscellaneous Info==
*Vitali and [[Wladimir Klitschko]] are the first brothers to hold world heavyweight titles at the same time.
*After Wladimir defeated [[David Haye]] on [[Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye|July 2, 2011]], all the major heavyweight belts were simultaneously owned by the Klitschko brothers. Wladimir held the [[IBF]], [[WBO]] and [[WBA]] titles, and Vitali held the [[WBC]] title.
*Son of an Air Force Colonel.
*Began boxing at the age of 17.
*Six-time kickboxing world champion, twice as an amateur and four times as a professional. His record was 34-1 with 22 knockouts.
*Earned a Ph.D. in Sports Science

==External Links==
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxing/2389404/Boxing-Klitschko-admits-steroid-abuse.html "Klitschko admits steroid abuse" The Telegraph, November 2, 2004]
*[http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2216803 "Arum: New dates in March ideal" ESPN.com, November 7, 2005]
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=20051110&id=kwNQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YwkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5285,3521481 "Injuries force Klitschko out of the ring" Associated Press, November 10, 2005]
*[http://blog.kievukraine.info/2006/03/klitschko-concedes-defeat-in-kiev.html "Klitschko Concedes Defeat In Kiev Mayoral Race" Kiev Ukraine News Blog , March 28, 2006]
*[http://en.rian.ru/world/20070519/65744787.html "Vitali Klitschko announces second run for Kiev mayor" RIA Novosti, May 19, 2007]
*[http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/10147304/vitali-klitschko-named-wbc-champion-emeritus-vacates-heavyweight-belt "Vitali Klitschko vacates title" ESPN.com, December 16, 2013]
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10731314/Ukraine-Vitali-Klitschko-pulls-out-of-presidential-race.html "Vitali Klitschko pulls out of presidential race" The Telegraph, March 29, 2014]
*[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-05-26/news/sns-rt-us-ukraine-crisis-kiev-20140526_1_eastern-ukraine-khreshchatyk-central-kiev "Boxing champ Vitaly Klitschko becomes mayor of Kiev" Chicago Tribune, May 26, 2014]
*[http://www.reocities.com/pedrinet/vklitschko.html Amateur Record]
*[http://www.klitschko.com/ Klitschko Brothers Official Website]

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Herbie Hide]]|
title=[[WBO Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Chris Byrd]]|
years=1999 Jun 26 – 2000 Apr 1
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Lennox Lewis]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Hasim Rahman]]|
years=2004 Apr 24 – 2005 Nov 9 '''Retired'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Samuel Peter]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Bermane Stiverne]]|
years=2008 Oct 11 – 2013 Dec 16 '''Retired'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klitschko, Vitali}}
[[Category:Professors]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Ukrainian World Champions]]
[[Category:The Ring Magazine Champions]]
[[Category:Klitschko Family|Klitschko, Vitali]]

Tyson Fury

2015-11-29T20:36:06Z

Earl:

[[File:Tyson Fury 499108370.jpg|thumb|270px|left|Photo by Marianne Mueller (November 28, 2015)]]
<boxer>479205</boxer>
'''Promoter:''' [[Mick Hennessy]] 
'''Manager & Trainer:''' [[Peter Fury]]

'''[[:Category:Tyson Fury Gallery|Tyson Fury Gallery]]'''
== Personal ==
*'''Tyson Luke Fury''' was born two and a half months premature and weighed just one pound. "The doctors told me there was not much chance of him living, and I had lost two daughters in the same way who had been born prematurely," said John Fury, his father. "They told me there was not much hope for him. It was 1988, [[Mike Tyson]] was in his pomp as world heavyweight champion, and so I said 'Let's call him Tyson...' The doctors just looked at me and smiled."
*Fury is from a family of boxers, which includes father [[John Fury|"Gypsy" John Fury]], brother [[Young (Hughie) Fury|Young Fury]], uncles [[Hugh Fury]] and [[Peter Fury]], and cousins [[Phill Fury]] and [[Hughie Fury]].
*The Furys are [[Wikipedia:Irish Travellers|Irish Travellers]].

== Amateur Career ==
'''2006''' Chemnitz City Cup Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist (junior division) in Chemnitz, Germany.
*Defeated Paul Mueller (Germany) RSCO 3
'''2006''' World Junior Championships Super Heavyweight Bronze Medalist in Agadir, Morocco.
*Defeated Ilham Khatamov (Azerbaijan) 21-11
*Defeated Istvan Bernath (Hungary) RSC
*Lost to Sardor Abdullayev (Uzbekistan) 31-36
'''2007''' Donbass Junior Cup Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist in Donetsk, Ukraine.
*Defeated Vladimir Bandura (Ukraine) RSCO 2
*Lost to Ivan Bezverkhiy (Ukraine) 10-23
'''2007''' European Union Junior Championships Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist in Warsaw, Poland.
*Defeated Danil Vlassov (Estonia) RSC 1
*Defeated Istvan Bernath (Hungary) AB 3
'''2007''' European Junior Championships Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist in Sombor, Serbia.
*Defeated Andrija Kekovic (Serbia) AB 3
*Defeated Ivan Bezverkhiy (Ukraine) AB 4
*Lost to Maxim Babanin (Russia) 11-24
'''2008''' English [[ABA]] Super Heavyweight Champion
*Defeated Mark Smith 3-1
*Defeated [[Shane McPhilbin]] 22-0
*Defeated Damien Campbell 19-1 [https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-2589664085108732%3Aifa4ir4z5cx&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=tyson+fury&sa=Search#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=tyson%20fury&gsc.page=1]

== Minor & Regional Titles Held ==
*[[BBBofC]] English Heavyweight Title (2009, 2010)
*[[BBBofC]] British Heavyweight Title (2011, 2014)
*[[Commonwealth Boxing Council|Commonwealth (British Empire)]] Heavyweight Title (2011)
*Irish Heavyweight Title (2012)
*[[WBO]] Intercontinental Heavyweight Title (2012)
*[[EBU]] Heavyweight Title (2014)
*[[WBO]] International Heavyweight Title (2014)
*[[IBO]] Heavyweight Title (2015)

{{start box}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Wladimir Klitschko]]|
title=[[IBF Heavyweight Champion]]|
after= –|
years= 2015 Nov 28 – present|
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Wladimir Klitschko]]|
title=[[WBO Heavyweight Champion]]|
years=2015 Nov 28 – present |
after=—|
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Wladimir Klitschko]] Super Champion|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=—|
years=2015 Nov 28 – present '''Super Champion'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fury, Tyson}}
[[Category:Commonwealth Boxing Council Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:EBU Champions]]
[[Category:ABA Champions]]
[[Category:Fury Family]]
[[Category:English World Champions]]

File:Tyson Fury 499108370.jpg

2015-11-29T20:26:28Z

Earl: Category: Tyson Fury Gallery

[[Category: Tyson Fury Gallery]]

Saul Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto

2015-11-27T17:08:14Z

Earl:

[[File:Cotto-Canelo 498231964.jpg|right|thumb|425px|Saul "Canelo" Alvarez lands a left against Miguel Cotto.]]
<fight>2000751</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Middleweight Championship''' (Vacant)
*'''[[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'' Magazine]] Middleweight Championship''' (2nd defense by Cotto)
*[[:File:Cotto-Canelo-Poster.jpg|Fight Poster]]
*[[:File:Canelocotto2.jpg|Photo 2]], [[:File:Cotto-Canelo 498234310.jpg|Photo 3]], [[:File:Cotto-Canelo 498234376.jpg|Photo 4]]

==Notes==
*Doug Fischer of ''The Ring'' magazine stated: "I had it 9 rounds to 3 or 117-111 for Alvarez, as [[Harold Lederman]] and my buddy Steve Kim (who I sat next to on press row) had it. Most of the media members around us scored it 116-112 for Alvarez." However, some felt that Cotto won the fight. TV Azteca commentators Eduardo Lamazón and Carlos Aguilar had Cotto winning 117-111, and the Mexican newspaper ''La Prensa'' called the judges' decision "Robo en Las Vegas" (Robbery in Las Vegas).
*[[Dan Rafael]] of [[ESPN]] reported that the fight generated at least 900,000 pay-per-view buys.

----

'''Canelo Alvarez defeats Miguel Cotto by decision, says 'now it's my era'''' 
By Dan Rafael | ESPN.com | Nov. 22, 2015

LAS VEGAS -- Canelo Alvarez is the new middleweight champion of the world after pounding his way to a unanimous decision victory against Miguel Cotto in a hard-fought battle Saturday night at the [[Mandalay Bay]] Events Center.

Alvarez and Cotto delivered an entertaining fight that had the crowd cheering throughout as Alvarez stalked Cotto, who knew his best chance to win was to box, box and box.

Cotto, 35, gave it a tremendous effort, staying on his toes and moving nicely throughout the fight, but the judges clearly liked Alvarez's brute strength more, awarding him the fight on surprisingly wide scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111.

ESPN.com had the fight 115-113 for Alvarez, a former unified junior middleweight titleholder who won a world title in his second weight class.

"It's an emotion I can't put into words," Alvarez said through a translator as the sold-out crowd of 11,274 cheered. "I'm very happy, and much respect to Miguel Cotto. I will always respect him and he's a great champion, but now it's my era.

"I was fully prepared for what Cotto was going to do in the ring, whether that was take a defense stance or be the aggressor."

The victory will go down as one of the best for Mexico in its rich and legendary boxing rivalry with Puerto Rico and should launch Alvarez -- at 25 already Mexico's most popular fighter -- to even greater stardom.

"It's a great victory for me; not just for me, but for all of my country, for all my people, and especially for my team," Alvarez said. "I have a great trainer [Eddy Reynoso]. He brought me here from nothing. I didn't even know what a jab was. That I'm at this level shows the quality of my trainer."

Said Reynoso, whose father, Chepo, serves as Alvarez's manager and assistant trainer: "We are very proud of Canelo today. As we all know, he started from the bottom and now he is the champion. I was never worried about him from the first round through to the 12th round. He has great defense strategy, but I was hoping that he would have finished Cotto sooner.

"I know that he was looking for the knockout and as a result didn't throw as much as he should have to put Miguel on the canvas. We have a lot of respect for Miguel; he is a great fighter, and we have tremendous respect for [[Freddie Roach]] as a trainer."

Saturday's fight was contracted at a catchweight of 155 pounds, five less than the division limit.

Alvarez not only claimed the WBC belt but also the lineal world championship, which Cotto was defending for the second time. However, on Tuesday the WBC stripped Cotto of his belt because of a dispute over the sanctioning fee. The WBC demanded $300,000, which Alvarez agreed to pay. Cotto offered to pay $125,000. The WBC refused to negotiate the fee, contrary to what it has typically done for major fights.

Cotto was shocked by the decision and did not do a postfight interview, nor did he appear at the postfight news conference. He immediately retreated to his dressing room, where his promoter, Jay Z of Roc Nation Sports, told him, "You had a great fight."

"We thought it was much closer than the scorecards showed," said Roach. "It was a competitive fight. Miguel's defense was unbelievable all night long."

The fight began with the crowd immediately breaking into chants of "Mexico! Mexico," but it was Cotto who moved well and outboxed Alvarez. That was clearly Roach's game plan as he entered his fourth fight since remolding Cotto in the wake of back-to-back decision losses to [[Floyd Mayweather Jr.|Mayweather]] and [[Austin Trout]]. Alvarez began to land a bit more in the second round, but Cotto's speed was still giving him problems.

Alvarez landed a solid right hand late in the third round that did not appear to faze Cotto, but Alvarez landed several more in the fourth that did seem to bother Cotto more.

The action finally began to heat up in the fifth round. As the two exchanged powerful shots, Alvarez landed an uppercut, and Cotto responded with a left hook during an exchange.

Alvarez, who had slight swelling under his left eye, had a big eighth round, landing a powerful right hand that finally seemed to stun Cotto. But Cotto stood in, and they had a long exchange in the first minute that had the crowd going wild. Alvarez continued to impose his will on Cotto, who backed away and looked a bit tired at the end of the round. Alvarez's power advantage was evident again in the ninth round, when he landed several heavy shots that stopped Cotto in his tracks.

Cotto's stamina was impressive. Just as he seemed to be fading in the later rounds, he was back on his toes in the 11th and landed a right hand that rocked Alvarez's head back. He was moving side to side and rarely staying in front of Alvarez, allowing him to land his right hand cleanly.

Alvarez opened the 12th round going after Cotto, and he landed a solid right hand and continued to land, but Cotto sneaked in an uppercut as the crowd was on its feet. It seemed as though the fight was still on the table, and they were fighting like it.

Alvarez backed Cotto up with a left hook with a minute left but took a right hand moments later. Alvarez got Cotto on the ropes, a rarity, and pounded away in the final 30 seconds before Cotto spun away. But they closed by trading shots to end an excellent fight, which [[HBO]] will replay Saturday night at 10:15 ET/PT.

According to [[Compubox|CompuBox]] punch statistics, Alvarez landed 155 of 484 punches (32 percent), and Cotto landed 129 of 629 (21 percent). But Alvarez's heavier blows seemed to inflict more damage.

"We knew going into this fight that it would be a difficult journey, but I feel that I was the faster and stronger fighter tonight," Alvarez said. "I wasn't hurt by his punches."

Alvarez said he knew he was the more powerful hitter and that his aim was to make sure Cotto knew it.

"It didn't matter if I landed 10 punches as long as they were 10 well-connected punches and not get hit by his punches," Alvarez said.

Alvarez made at least $5 million for the fight and probably much more via Mexican television rights. Cotto earned at least $15 million.

After he left the ring, Alvarez visited Cotto in the dressing room, where he paid his respects to Cotto's family and team and told Cotto, "I admire you."

By capturing the WBC belt, Alvarez must face interim titleholder [[Gennady Golovkin]], who holds two other organization full titles and was ringside, in his next fight. However, Alvarez and Cotto have mutual rematch clauses in their contracts, so Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) very well could dump the belt -- but not the lineage -- and meet Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) in a rematch that would surely be another fan-friendly fight.

Alvarez still said he was interested in a showdown with Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs), one of boxing's most fearsome punchers and best fighters pound for pound.

"I'm not afraid of any fighter. GGG is a great fighter, and he is my friend," Alvarez said. "I have respect for him, but if we do fight, it's going to be at my [natural] weight class [of 155 pounds]. I'm the champion. I don't have to do what he wants.

"With all due respect, if he wants to fight right now, I'll put the gloves on and fight him."

Fight fans around the world can only hope he is serious. [http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/14191395/canelo-alvarez-defeats-miguel-cotto-unanimous-decision-win-vacant-middleweight-title]

File:Cotto-Canelo 498234310.jpg

2015-11-27T16:53:03Z

Earl: Category:Saul Alvarez Gallery Category:Miguel Angel Cotto Gallery