Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir were kings of the heavyweight division for the early part of the 21st century.
With a professional record of 45-2, ‘Dr. Ironfist’ was able to be one of the most brutal heavyweights of the modern era of boxing.
With 41 wins coming by way of knockout, the Ukranian had an elite finishing ability, which allowed him to rule over the heavyweight division.
Only losing twice, even the greatest heavyweight boxers at the time were not able to get the better of Klitschko, who was a two-time heavyweight champion.
However, despite his dominance in the division, he was unsuccessful in one of his title attempts.
Vitali Klitschko suffered a cut to halt him becoming a two-time world champion
Klitschko would first become a world champion in 1999 when he defeated Herbie Hide via second-round knockout. Then, the Ukrainian would make a further two title defenses, before dropping his crown to Chris Byrd in 2000.
Going on a five-fight winning streak following the loss, Klitschko earned a fight with Lennox Lewis as the two met in Los Angeles in June 2003.
The Englishman was coming off of a knockout over Mike Tyson, where Lewis and ‘Iron Mike’ had a pre-fight brawl.
However, the bout with Klitschko would be the final outing of his career.
Although Klitschko was winning the fight and ahead on the scorecards, he would be stopped in the sixth round without even being knocked down.
After suffering a cut above his left eyebrow, the damage began to worsen as the fight progressed, before the referee stopped the fight. The cut was deemed to be too significant of an injury for Klitschko to fight through.
As it was the last match of Lewis’ career, the rematch was never made, however, Klitschko bounced back from the loss well.
Vitali Klitschko ended his career on an incredible title run
Despite the significance of the cut he suffered versus Lewis, Klitschko returned to the ring just six months later. Defeating Kirk Johnson in the second round, this would be the start of an epic run from the Ukrainian.
In 2004, after his Johnson bout, Klitschko would claim the vacant WBC World Heavyweight title by defeating Corrie Sanders. Then, for the remainder of his career, Klitschko would never drop his crown again.
Klitschko held the WBC World Heavyweight title until he retired in 2012, totaling 11 title defenses. Among his unsuccessful challengers include Derek Chisora, Chris Arreola, and Shannon Briggs, who recently called out Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali’s brother.
Vitali Klitschko did not attempt to unify his heavyweight title because his brother was the holder of other belts in the division between 2006 and 2015.