Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (/vɨˈtæli ˈklɪtʃkoʊ/; Ukrainian: Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́, ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian professional boxer and the reigning WBC heavyweight champion. He is leader of the political party UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko and since 15 December 2012 member of the Ukrainian parliament. He previously held the WBO and WBC titles. Klitschko is the first professional boxing world champion to hold a PhD degree.

Klitschko is known for his powerful punches and durable chin. With a 87.23% knockout percentage rate, he holds the second best knockout-to-fight ratio of any champion in heavyweight boxing history, after Rocky Marciano's 87.76%. He has never been knocked down in any professional boxing bout and has also never lost a decision. His two losses have come via a shoulder injury during a fight and a deep cut above his eye, which were recorded as TKO losses. In both fights, however, he was leading on the scorecards. His power and his possession of a PhD have led to his nickname, Dr. Ironfist.

He was awarded Germany's highest civilian award, the Federal Cross of Merit, for his varied accomplishments. On 27 February 2012, Ring Magazine rated Vitali as the number nine pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Klitschko's younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring World Heavyweight Champion.