Vitali Klitschko Record & Stats

Boxing Record

Career Summary

Vitali Klitschko's professional boxing career spanned more than 15 years — from 1996 to 2012.

Klitschko made his debut against Tony Bradham at the age of 25 on November 16, 1996, defeating Bradham via 2nd round KO. He went on to win 26 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 26 wins via stoppage.

Klitschko had his first world title fight at the age of 27 on June 26, 1999 after 24 professional fights, against Herbie Hide for the heavyweight WBO title. He defeated Hide via 2nd round KO to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

Klitschko has won four world titles at heavyweight. For all the details about Klitschko's world title wins and defenses refer to "Vitali Klitschko World Titles".

Some of Klitschko's best fights and notable victories include wins over Tomasz Adamek, Juan Carlos Gómez, Samuel Peter, Orlin Norris, Danny Williams, Corrie Sanders, and Manuel Charr.

Vitali Klitschko had a total of two losses in his professional boxing career — both of them in title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Chris Byrd via 9th round RTD on April 1, 2000, which ended his 27-fight win streak. Both of Klitschko's losses came via stoppage. For more details about these defeats, refer to "All of Vitali Klitschko's losses".

His last professional fight was a heavyweight title defense bout against German boxer Manuel Charr on September 8, 2012. Klitschko won the fight via 4th round TKO and defended his WBC title. It's been 10 years, 4 months, and 27 days since this fight.

Klitschko retired from professional boxing with a record of 45-2, which included 41 knockout wins and 2 losses via knockout, and 4 title wins. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 2018.

Career Highlights

Vitali Klitschko fought a total of 47 times during his professional career. He was among the very best of his generation and put on some great performances. These 11 fights are the highlight of his career.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Herbie Hide

  June 26, 1999

  A 27-year old Vitali Klitschko (24-0, 24 KO) had his first world title fight against Herbie Hide for Hide's WBO heavyweight belt.

  Klitschko defeated Hide via 2nd round KO to win the WBO heavyweight title.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Orlin Norris

  January 27, 2001

  A 29-year old Vitali Klitschko (28-1, 27 KO) faced Orlin Norris, who was 35 years old with a record of 51-6. Norris was on a one-fight win streak with 27 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 24 cms and also had a 23 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Norris via 1st round KO.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Corrie Sanders

  April 24, 2004

  A 32-year old Vitali Klitschko (33-2, 32 KO) faced Corrie Sanders, who was 38 years old with a record of 39-2. Sanders was on a three-fight win streak with 29 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 8 cms and also had a 5 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Sanders via 8th round TKO to win the vacant WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Danny Williams

  December 11, 2004

  A 33-year old Vitali Klitschko (34-2, 33 KO) faced Danny Williams, who was 31 years old with a record of 32-3 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Williams was on a three-fight win streak with 27 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 14 cms but both had the same reach.

  Klitschko defeated Williams via 8th round TKO to retain the WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter

  October 11, 2008

  A 37-year old Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KO) faced Samuel Peter, who was 28 years old with a record of 30-1. Peter was on a six-fight win streak with 23 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 13 cms and also had a 5 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Peter via 8th round RTD to win the WBC heavyweight title.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Juan Carlos Gómez

  March 21, 2009

  A 37-year old Vitali Klitschko (36-2, 35 KO) faced Juan Carlos Gómez, who was 35 years old with a record of 44-1 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Gómez was on a seven-fight win streak with 35 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 9 cms but Gómez had a 3 cm reach advantage over Klitschko.

  Klitschko defeated Gómez via 9th round TKO to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola

  September 26, 2009

  A 38-year old Vitali Klitschko (37-2, 36 KO) faced an undefeated Chris Arreola, who was 28 years old with a record of 27-0 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Arreola was on a 27-fight win streak with 24 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 10 cms and also had a 8 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Arreola via 10th round RTD to retain the WBC heavyweight title. He handed Arreola the first loss of his career, and put an end to Arreola's 27-fight win streak.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs

  October 16, 2010

  A 39-year old Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KO) faced Shannon Briggs, who was 38 years old with a record of 51-5-1 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Briggs was on a three-fight win streak with 45 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 8 cms but Briggs had a 2 cm reach advantage over Klitschko.

  Klitschko defeated Briggs via 12 round unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Tomasz Adamek

  September 10, 2011

  A 40-year old Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39 KO) faced Tomasz Adamek, who was 34 years old with a record of 44-1 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Adamek was on a 13-fight win streak with 28 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 14 cms and also had a 10 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Adamek via 10th round TKO to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Derek Chisora

  February 18, 2012

  A 40-year old Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KO) faced Derek Chisora, who was 28 years old with a record of 15-2 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Chisora was on a one-fight losing streak. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 13 cms and also had a 13 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Chisora via 12 round unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

• Vitali Klitschko vs. Mahmoud Charr

  September 8, 2012

  A 41-year old Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 40 KO) faced an undefeated Manuel Charr, who was 27 years old with a record of 21-0 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Charr was on a 21-fight win streak with 11 KO wins. Klitschko was the taller of the two by 9 cms and also had a 6 cm reach advantage.

  Klitschko defeated Charr via 4th round TKO to retain the WBC heavyweight title. He handed Charr the first loss of his career, and put an end to Charr's 21-fight win streak.