Vitalii Klychko wins European boxing championship (11/01/98)

Vitalii Klychko wins European boxing championship

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - With two lightning quick swings of his fists, unbeaten Vitalii Klychko became the first Ukrainian to win the European super heavyweight boxing championship on October 25.

The towering 6-foot-8-inch Kyivan, now undefeated in 22 professional fights, made short shrift of his much smaller opponent, Mario Schiesser, felling him at the 1:51 minute mark of the second round in Hamburg, Germany.

The German-born Mr. Schiesser was overmatched from the beginning in a fight that was scheduled to go 12 rounds. Twice he was knocked down by Mr. Klychko's onslaughts, once in the first round. After the second knockdown, which left Mr. Schiesser wobbly, Klychko quickly finished off his 34-year-old opponent with a right hook followed by a left uppercut.

Mr. Schiesser attempted, without success, to muscle his taller opponent into corners where he had the best chance of overcoming Mr. Klychko's much longer reach. But the new European champion used his jab to keep the German at arm's length.

"I am sorry the fight was so short, but at least the spectators saw a beautiful end," Mr. Klychko told the Associated Press after the fight.

Although the crowd cheered on its countryman, Schiesser, Mr. Klychko also had many fans in the crowd. He and his younger brother, Volodymyr, 22, who won Olympic gold in the super heavyweight division at the Atlanta Games and also is undefeated in his professional career, both train and live in Hamburg and have quickly become popular in Germany.

Mr. Klychko, 27, adds the World Boxing Organization European Championship to his now-vacated WBO Intercontinental Championship. He has won all his 22 fights by knock-out, a feat that surpassess the record held by former super heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

At a press conference in Kyiv on October 27, Mr. Klychko said he now will prepare to fight for the world championship against Herbie Hide, the current WBO title holder. The match is currently scheduled for the summer of 1999.

Although expressing satisfaction with his European Championship, Mr. Klychko called it "only another step on the road to the championship of the world."

He explained that he is simply pleased that he has the honor to be the first Ukrainian to bring home the title of European champion.

Asked when he may take on the likes of former World Boxing Council super heavyweight champion Mr. Tyson, and current World Boxing Association crown holder Evander Holyfield - considered the top two boxers in the world - Mr. Klychko was noncommittal. "I do not yet know what I will do after I win the WBO," he said.

His brother, Volodymyr, said that one thing is certain: the two would never fight against each other. "The only time you will ever see us posed against each other is on promotional posters," said the younger Klychko.

Both Klychkos studied at the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute in Ukraine. Vitalii was born in 1971 in Kyrgyzstan, while Volodymyr was born in 1976 in Kazakstan.

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