CANASTOTA, N.Y. – Amongst the sea of hundreds of boxing fans who made the pilgrimage to witness this year’s inductions into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, was an atypical multitude of beaming individuals draped in Ukrainian flags and wearing embroidered shirts. For among the 2018 inductees were three boxers: four-division world champion Erik “El Terrible” Morales and middleweight champion Ronald “Winky” Wright, as well as former three-time heavyweight champion Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko of Ukraine. Also inducted on that day, June 10, were two broadcasters, Steve Albert and Jim Gray.
Borys Buniak
Vitali Klitschko’s message: “Never give up fighting for your dreams!”
Dr. Klitschko (he holds a Ph.D. in sports science) boxed professionally from 1996 to 2013. His formidable jabs and punches yielded a practically indomitable 45-2 record with 41 knockouts. A product of the Soviet athletic system, Dr. Klitschko shared with the audience at the induction ceremony that as a youth, his 6-foot-7 lean physique would lend itself better to the sport of swimming. Still, boxing, this vigorous combat sport, requiring incredible stamina, strength and the ability to strategically penetrate an opponent’s guard with powerful jabs and hooks, was his calling.
Ukrainian and other fans of Dr. Klitschko appeared moved when the Hall of Fame inductee made a prayer gesture with his hands and said, “God sent me good people around me, who helped me achieve these goals in life …without these people, I never could have achieved what I received today.”
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Vitali Klitschko in the parade en route to the induction ceremony.
Paying tribute to his younger brother, former two-time world heavyweight champion Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko stated earnestly: “I want to say especially thank you to one person. Without this person, it would be impossible to achieve such a big accomplishment in life. This person always pushes me from my back. He’s just four years younger than me. …I go to boxing, he says he wants to do boxing. I want to go to university for Ph.D., and he also. I go to the Hall of Fame, and I’m sure Wladimir Klitschko will be here too. I am very proud to have the strongest brother in the world!”
Borys Buniak
2018 inductees (from left): Winky Wright, Steve Albert, Vitali Klitschko, Jim Gray and Erik Morales.
Vitali Klitschko, who is Kyiv’s current mayor and leader of the UDAR (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform) party, addressed both his personal and native land’s fighting spirit. “It is very important to always have a dream, to have a dream to be a champion. I have a dream to live in a good country with good life standards… I know you have to fight for your dreams and fight for others… you have to, because no fights – no wins.”
On this international stage where such boxing legends as Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson have stood, Dr. Klitschko concluded his acceptance speech with the proclamation, “Slava Ukraini!” In turn, spectators and proud Ukrainians loudly and proudly responded “Heroyam slava!”
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Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in the International Boxing Hall of Fame point to the plaque recognizing Vitali.
For Ukrainians at this historic event, when the first Ukrainian was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, that gesture unequivocally affirmed that Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko is an individual who is not only a true sportsman and champion in the ring, but also a champion in life.
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Ukrainian fans with the Klitschko brothers.
Lida Buniak, a retired school psychologist and current graduate student at Syracuse University, and her husband, Dr. Borys Buniak, who live in Fayetteville, N.Y., attended the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony in nearby Canastota, N.Y.