“I have no choice, I have to do it. I will be fighting (for Ukraine).”
This is how Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kiev since 2014, responded when asked if he would defend his country against the Russian invasion that began early on Thursday.
“i believe in ukraineI believe in my country and I believe in my people”, added the 50-year-old man, during an intervention on the program Good Morning Britain from the british chain ITV The last friday.
About fighting, Klitschko knows a lot.
But now he faces a very different fight than the one he used to dominate until the year 2012.
He is remembered by many as one of the greatest boxers of the 2000s, when he and his brother Wladimir monopolized the boxing division. Heavyweight.
One of the most fearsome boxers of his generation
Klitschko began his boxing career in 1996, winning in two rounds against Tony Bradham in Germany.
Three years later, in 1999, he picked up the World Boxing Organization belt by winning his first world title against Britain’s Herbie Hide in London.
This victory cemented him as one of the most fearsome heavyweights of his generation.
Despite losing an important fight against Britain’s Lennox Lewis in 2003, Klitschko made history by taking the World Boxing Council (WBC) title from South Africa’s Corrie Sanders in 2004. He defended that title 11 times since then.
“Ukraine needs me”
In late 2013, the champion shocked his fans by relinquishing his WBC title and announcing that he would trade boxing gloves for politics.
The WBC then decided to make it “champion emeritus“to allow him to directly challenge a new champion if he wanted to take up boxing again.
But the then Ukrainian opposition leader ruled out that option, saying it was something he could not imagine.
“My attention is focused on politics in Ukraine and I feel that the people there need me,” he said in the midst of the intense wave of pro-European protests that shook the European country in 2013.
The demonstrators were protesting against former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to create closer ties with the European Union.
A Guinness record
Klitschko finished his successful boxing career with a record of 45-2 and 41 knockouts. His last fight was in September 2012 when he knocked out German Manuel Charr in the fourth round.
Like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Klitschko was a novato on politiciana before being elected mayor of the Ukrainian capital in 2014.
Son of a soldier stationed in Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster, he has a doctorate in Sports Sciences and speaks several languages.
Vitali and his younger brother Wladimir entered the Guinness Book of Records as the brothers with the most world heavyweight title wins.
Now, as mayor of Kiev, he has taken a prominent role in his country’s fight against the Russian invasion.
A “terrible” prueba
Klitschko on Friday joined the country’s defense minister’s calls for civilians over the age of 18 to take up arms to defend the country.
Read also: “I need ammunition, not a ride”; Zelensky rejects US evacuation offer
The former boxer assured that Kiev is under threat and that the city has entered a “defensive phase.”
“Gunshots and explosions are ringing out in some neighborhoods. Saboteurs have already entered Kiev. The enemy wants to bring the capital to its knees and destroy us,” he told a news conference on Friday as Russian troops approached the center of the capital. ukrainian
The authorities of the Ukrainian capital and the Armed Forces of the country assured this Saturday that a series of clashes had broken out in the streets of Kiev.
The Ukrainian capital experienced its worst dawn this Saturday since Russia began the invasion of neighboring territory on February 24.
From the early hours of the day, explosions began to be heard in the city as the Russian forces approached.
But Vitali Klitschko has assured that his people will stand up against the invasion.
“The Ukrainian people are strong. And he will remain true to himself in this terrible trial. It is a people longing for sovereignty and peace. A people that he considers as brothers to the Russian people,” he wrote in a post on Thursday.
“The Ukrainian people have chosen democracy. But democracy is a fragile regime. Democracy cannot defend itself; it needs the will of the citizens, the commitment of all. Basically, there is no democracy without democrats.”
Read also: “We have a neighbor murderer and aggressor”
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcPj4eEnhyM
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