Vitali: I would have knocked Lewis out if the ref would have let the fight continue

Vitali aims for knockouts in two distinct arenas
Pro democracy advocate in Ukraine, older brother of Wladimir, vying for mayor's chair in Kyiv and WBC heavyweight title

Warren Tasker, The Edmonton Journal

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/sports/story.html?id=69d541da-1dcd-4e91-9da9-f16e6c9f1e4d

For six bloody and brutal rounds, he gave Lennox Lewis hell.

The undisputed heavyweight champ didn't know what hit him on June 21, 2003, when he took on Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko.

For two gentlemen who love the game of chess, strategy was punted from the ring that night. The two clobbered each other; Lewis's punches lacerated the area around Klitschko's left eye and the fight was stopped because of the severity of the cuts. Lewis's victory was ruled a sixth-round technical knockout, but Klitschko was ahead on points on all three judges' scorecards.

Eight months later, Lewis retired.

Klitschko, who begged for a rematch, was handed the heavyweight torch and fought for two more years, until a series of injuries (back, knees, shoulder) forced him to retire. He was the best heavyweight out there at the time.

Packing a PhD, like his younger boxing brother Wladimir, Vitali said goodbye to boxing and took up another fight -- politics. The brothers were active supporters of the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution led by current Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko. In 2006, Vitali took the plunge himself, but came up short in a bid to become mayor of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

Following that defeat, Vitali has stayed busy with his charity projects (working for UNESCO to restoring a church in Kyiv), raising his three children and watching his brother become the No. 1 heavyweight in the world.

Now, Vitali, 36, is making comebacks in both arenas -- politics and boxing. He is in line to face Samuel Peter for the WBC heavyweight title in October. Wladimir owns the WBO and IBF belts. Their goal, they have said in the past, is to reign together.

But for the time being, all of Vitali's attention will be focused on his second swing at becoming mayor of Kyiv. He entered the mayoral race as an independent on March 31 after parliament dismissed the city's previous mayor amid corruption charges. The election is scheduled for May 25.

Vitali Klitschko talked about his immediate future during a recent telephone interview.

Question: How does it feel to be back in the boxing spotlight?

Answer: I am looking forward to regaining the WBC heavyweight championship. As I have announced, I will participate in the election for mayor of Kyiv to be held May 25. However, this will not deter me from my goal of reclaiming the WBC championship. These are my two primary goals at this time. What happens after that, only time will tell.

Q: Would you like another shot at Lewis?

A: A rematch with Lennox was the fight that I had always wanted since our fight in 2003 in Los Angeles. Many people have said that our fight was the best heavyweight fight in a long time and wanted to see the rematch. Unfortunately, Lennox decided to retire instead of fighting me again. I think his decision was based on the fact that he was losing the fight on the scorecards and I really believe that I would have knocked him out if the referee would have let the fight continue.

Q: One fight of which you will never be part is Klitschko vs. Klitschko. Why is that?

A: It is a very simple answer. We promised our mother that we would never fight each other in the ring. I support Wladimir in all of his fights and he supports me in my fights -- we will never fight each other.
There are enough titles so that we can both be champions at the same time and that is really our goal -- to have all the titles in the Klitschko family.

Q: When your ring career is finished and you have accomplished your goals, will you stay in the fight game?




A: When my ring career is over, I will support Wladimir in his effort to become the unified heavyweight champion and our boxing promotion company K2 Promotions. However, my focus will be on my political career in Ukraine.

Q: Why are today's best heavyweights from Europe?

A: I believe the reason for this is that there is now access to better training facilities and trainers than we had under the Soviet era, when we were only allowed to compete as amateurs and professional boxing did not exist. I remember when I was coming up in the gym, we had to share training equipment with the whole team and we did not have our own equipment.

Q: What boxers inspired you growing up?

A: Mike Tyson, because I saw him fight on TV in Ukraine and I told my friends that I would be a world champion like him someday -- they all laughed at me. I never got the opportunity to fight Mike in the ring, but I met him several times outside of it.

I have also met Max Schmeling and Muhammad Ali in person and think that they both are great role models and have contributed to society through their accomplishments in the ring.

Q: Why is the fight for democracy so important to you?

A: I have strongly supported the development of democracy in Ukraine. I look forward to winning the election for mayor, so that I can be in a better position to strengthen the democratic system and strengthen the position of Ukraine in the free world.

Q: Who is the better chess player -- you or Wladimir?

A: It depends who has the better day. We are competitive both in the ring and on the chess board. Since I will never compete with Wladimir in the ring, chess is good competition for us. I can edge him out on the chess board, but Wladimir is very clever and can beat me at any time if I am not careful.

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