Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight who unified multiple world titles and holds the record for most opponents beaten in world heavyweight title fights (23), across two championship reigns.

Wladimir Klitschko held a share of the world heavyweight championship continuously for 4,382 days from 2006 to 2015 — the longest reign since Joe Louis — making 18 title defences and unifying the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts into the most dominant heavyweight tenure of the modern era. He defended his unified titles 18 times. His jab-and-grab style — maintaining opponents at range with a precise jab, clinching to neutralise his counter-punching — was derided by critics as negative but proved almost impossible to solve. He won Olympic gold at the Atlanta Games in 1996. He lost to Corrie Sanders in 2003 and Lamon Brewster in 2004 — two unexpected defeats that prompted him to hire Emanuel Steward as trainer, a partnership that transformed him from a powerful but sometimes vulnerable champion into an almost impregnable one. He made 23 successful title defences after the Steward appointment. He lost a challenge for Anthony Joshua's titles in 2017 in a bout that generated over one million pay-per-view purchases — the largest boxing audience in British history. He retired following that defeat. He earned a PhD in sports science and remains involved in charitable and public advocacy work for Ukraine, distinct from his brother Vitali's political career as Mayor of Kyiv.

Technical boxer with powerful jab and clinical finishing

One of longest-reigning heavyweight champions in boxing history

• World Championships Silver 1994
• Military World Games Gold 1995
• Olympic Gold Medal 1996
• WBO Heavyweight Champion 2000
• IBF Heavyweight Champion 2006
• WBA Heavyweight Champion 2011