Vitali and Vladimir Klitshko are fighting in the ranks of Ukraine against Russia

– Willpower is the strongest force – in business and life.

Such text flashes in the eye when opened Vladimir Klitshkon website.

The Ukrainian boxing legend has developed a slogan for its business, but it also describes well the attitude of the Ukrainians at war against Russia, which seems superior.

2005-2015 boxing rings brother Vitali Klitshkon Vladimir, who ruled with Vita, was considered in the ring, like Vital, a mechanical machine that lacked heart and soul.

Now, critics’ estimates sound downright absurd as the brothers, who have earned tens of millions, defend their homeland in Kiev against Russia.

– I have no choice. I have to do it. I’m going to fight, Vitali said last week Good Morning Britain in the program.

Cancer took Dad

There are pictures of action heroes hanging on the wall of the room. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris were idols of Vladimir and Vital when the brothers were teenagers.

Iron fists were born in the 70s in the Soviet Union. Father of the boys Vladimir Rodionovich was a Major General of the Air Force who died in 2011. The cancer took the man at the age of 64. Rodionivich had been involved in the cleansing of Chernobyl.

Vladimir dominated the brawl as a teenager, but he did not dream of professionalism.

– I dreamed at a young age of being a soldier, a doctor and an astronaut. However, I do not boxing, Vladimir has said.

Vital could have become something completely different than a boxer. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, criminal gangs tried to lure a large youth into a dark path.

– They said it was not worth going to schools. We have work to do for you, Vitali recalls.

He declined the offer and focused on kickboxing. The result was World Cup gold.

Smoky smell

After the game was kicked out, Vitali Klitshko switched to boxing. He was supposed to represent Ukraine at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but the race trip was interrupted when a man was caught using steroids. He has later admitted to using illicit substances.

Vital was replaced by little brother Vladimir, who won Olympic gold. In 2012, Vladimir auctioned off his gold medal for 750,000 euros and donated the money to a Ukrainian children’s hospital. After the auction, however, the buyer announced that Klitshko was allowed to keep his medal, but the money still went to a good purpose.

Pekka Mäkia legendary boxing coach, clashed with the Klitshko brothers for the first time in the 90s.

– The Ukrainians were a disciplined and well-behaved group, Mäki recalls.

– It was an extract of time in the history of Ukraine. They were then quite close to their brotherhood with the Russians, as there were still familiar coaches from Soviet times.

Which better?

The brothers began their professional careers the same evening in Hamburg in November 1996. Both left the ring with the KO label as winners.

– Both were reaching out and competing in an upright position. They used the very front line with which they controlled the matches. And the right straight was hard for both, Mäki says.

At first, Klitshko, who looked a bit clumsy at first, was laughed at, especially in the United States. In the Yankee, machine-like Ukrainians reminded me of the rocky films Ivan Dragon.

The thud froze as opponents fell one after another in front of the Klitshko bombs. Eventually, the brothers dominated the heavyweight championship belts for ten years.

– They ran their own Klitshko promotions and caused shock waves in their long careers, Mäki says.

The whole boxing world would have liked to see the brothers in the same ring, but that never happened because Klitshko’s mother Nadezhda forbade the boys from competing against each other.

– I think Vitali would have won that match, Mäki estimates.

– He was a little harder mentally than Vladimir and ready to fight. Vitali challenged more. Vladimir had a more clinical and defensive way to fight.

The story continues after the picture.

A crazy hotel

Finnish heavyweight boxer Jarno Rosberg found himself at the Stanglwirt Hotel in the Austrian Alps in 2012. The five-star accommodation was lavish.

– There were probably ten saunas and various saltwater pools in the spa area, Rosberg recalls.

The Tyrolean luxury hotel is also on holiday with a movie star, but Rosberg was not there on holiday. He was there sparring Vladimir Klitshkoa During the World Cup match and got to watch the training of the best heavyweight in the world really close.

– He was a real pedantic guy, Rosberg recalls.

Mäki has also heard stories about Klitshko’s training camps, which had precise rules.

– If you had to be in the hall at six, everyone was there at six. If not, sent home.

Although the training was supposed to be at six, the sparring could only start at half past eight. Before the actual training, the master did yoga breathing exercises, for example, and went for a massage. The hands were put in order.

– It was a really systematic activity. There, 12 rounds could be taken so that three different men take turns in the ring, and Klitshko could cannon the first four rounds just straight ahead. Every sparrow knew their exact job, Mäki says.

“Smart guy”

Rosberg also got to see Vladimir Klitshko outside the ring as they went with the crowd to eat sushi at a top restaurant.

– Vladimir was a smart and polite guy who took everything into account. He was also an edgy and humble-looking type. So no basic boxer from the Bronx, Rosberg laughs.

Rosberg also made a good impression on Klitshko, as the Finn was again called the champion’s sparring buddy before the World Cup the following year.

– The camps lasted for three weeks, so I trained with him for a total of just over six weeks. They left a really good feeling. Everything was arranged on top of everything.

Rosberg also didn’t have to leave the camps with empty pockets.

– He probably got 6,000–8,000 euros for those three weeks, Mäki guesses.

Warriors

Vitali, five years older than Vladimir, hit a pounding boxing glove in 2012 and got involved in politics. He was elected to the Ukrainian parliament as a representative of his liberal, pro-Western Udar (Fist) party. Now the man is the mayor of Kiev.

The 50-year-old gentleman has studied physical and health sciences at Kiev University and received his doctorate. After graduating in 2017, Vladimir is also a doctor of physical education.

In addition to Ukraine, both brothers have a home in Germany and speak four different languages ​​fluently: Ukrainian, Russian, German and English.

Externally, men are very similar to each other. The faces of both are as stiff as those carved with an ax. There are still differences.

– Vladimir may be a little more relaxed. Vitali is bigger and older, Rosberg ponders.

In the ring, Klitshkot avoided risks until the last, but now the situation is different. Rosberg was a little surprised that the men signed up for the Ukrainian army’s reserves even before Russia made the first attack on Ukraine.

– But on the other hand, they are warriors. The homeland is really important to them, Rosberg knows.

Sources: The Guardian, ESPN, Klitschko documentary