A Day in History – Wladimir Klitschko Avenged His Brother in Heavyweight Fight

On Oct. 14, 2000, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight belt returned to Ukraine’s Klitschko family after the then-24-year-old Wladimir Klitschko defeated 30-year-old US boxer Chris Byrd. Klitschko took the title that his older brother, Vitali, had lost to Byrd a few months before.

Wladimir’s victory would mark the beginning of boxing history’s longest accumulated heavyweight title reign, clocking in at 4,382 days in total, as noted by the Ukrainian news outlet “Champion.” Wladimir continued to gather other heavyweight belts after the 2000 match, though it was not without setbacks.

He would later lose the WBO title to South African boxer Corrie Sanders in 2003, with Vitali subsequently defeating Sanders in 2004 and winning the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title – however, Sanders vacated the WBO title a year prior, and it wouldn’t return to the Klitschko family until 2008 when Wladimir reclaimed it. 

Wladimir also won the International Boxing Organization (IBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight belts in 2006, with Vitali’s 2004 victory marking the beginning of an era later known as the “Klitschko era,” when the Klitschko brothers dominated the heavyweight scene.

Wladimir held the WBO title until 2015 when he was defeated by British boxer Tyson Fury. Fury had to vacate the title in 2016 due to a doping case before winning the WBC title in 2020, which he lost to Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk this year, with Usyk, having acquired the WBC belt, becoming the world’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000.

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Vitali retired in 2013 and would later be an active participant in Ukraine’s 2014 Euromaidan, subsequently becoming the mayor of Kyiv, a position he continues to hold. Wladimir retired in 2017 and, alongside his brother, is aiding Ukraine’s war efforts against Russia’s invasion.