The Brothers Klitschko:The Unfulifilled Pilgimage
June 11th, 2010
By Ricardo Lucero: Standing well over 6 feet tall, the brothers hold Doctorates of Philosophy in Sports Science. The older brother is called “Dr. Iron fist.” The younger brother “Dr. Steelhammer.” Both ,with recent fights, can garner no less than 50,000 boxing fans in stadiums in Germany. Both have their faces on stamps. And most notably – both have dominated the Heavyweight Division for many years. Vitali Vladymyrovich Klitschko, the WBC current champion and his younger brother Wladimir, the IBF, WBO, IBO and the Ring Magazine current champion have already secured their places in the history of the sport.
But in the U.S, when walking down the streets, aside from the fact that on most occasions, they tower above the average Joe, they can prettily much go about their business undisturbed. There are several occasions that some casual fans may recognize them. But then, most do not. Not in their immediate neighborhood, anyway.
So maybe they get to sign a few autographs.
“…hey man,what’s with the crowd?”
“…wer’re tryin’ ta get autographs and some pictures”
“…who from? that big guy?…ain’t he a wrestler or sum’thin?”
“…nah,i think he’s a russian boxer…or sum’thin.”
“…ivan drago eh?….wuz’ his name?
“…dunno…sum’body said kleeshow……….or sum’thin”.
You will never hear such a conversation in Ukraine, Austria, Germany or most of Europe.
This just shows how little-known the brothers are in the U.S.,aside from hard-core fans. Mike Tyson can’t go anywhere, I mean anywhere in America and in the world without being recognized. Even to those who don’t follow the sports of boxing. Ali can incite “bumaye” from people who’ve never even seen a professional boxing ring in their lives. On a side note, with Wladimir, it may not be so anymore, currently having a well-known female companion. But that’s another matter altogether.
When athletes dominate a sport and when they’ve been doing it for so long, the usual consequence is fame. Sometimes it goes beyond the boundaries of the sport. Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Michael Shumacher are some of these prime examples. But there are those who might argue that Tyson’s misdeeds outside the ring are actually what made him famous .Now, I will beg to differ on that, because one has to be famous for his antics to be plastered on news pages. The argument being, if he is not that famous in the first place, who would really care what he does?
So fame, plays a part, a big part in setting up huge fights. Not just a big fan base, but enough pulling power to get that very casual fan to buy a seat or to pay for pay-per-view to see the fight. And that is one factor why the brothers cannot get huge fights in the U.S. It doesn’t really matter if they are not Americans. Filipino Manny Pacquiao faced a virtually unknown Ghanaian Joshua Clottey, but the numbers they generated was pretty impressive for a fight in which both combatants were not Americans. The brothers can fill up huge stadiums in Europe, but many doubt if they can pull the same feat in the U.S.
Conquer America,and one will conquer the World. The Mecca of Boxing – formerly the Madison Square Garden.
Nowadays, to most, Las Vegas, Nevada.
So, what’s missing? What key ingredient in their recipe is missing to get to cater to American taste?
A Joe might say – “well, to me they’re too boring to watch” The same has been said about Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he keeps surprising people with his big PPV numbers.
Another may say -”well, to me, they’re far too nice to be fighters.”
Oscar dela Hoya during his time,and more recently Manny Pacquiao are examples of the nicest fighters out there, yet their fan bases are huge. Is there a double standard here? Maybe or maybe it’s for another reason.
Maybe it’s the combination of both…..Boring and nice To most boxing fans, that is like saying – “sleeping pills.”
Because Floyd Mayweather, whatever excitement he lacks in the ring, he makes up for it out of the squared circle. And Manny Pacquiao, what he lacks in excitement in his personality, he makes up for it by his explosiveness in the ring.
One fighter in particular, proved that theory. David Haye. Not boring, not nice. Not boring to watch, simply because aside from his speed and haymakers and his powerful straight right, he himself can get KO’d at any moment. Not nice, because….well I think there’s no need to elaborate on that one. But he called American heavyweights – “blobs of fat”, for one thing. And he got the attention of the boxing world. He created a shortcut to a championship belt .Maybe this is the key ingredient. Because, admit it or not, David Haye knows how to sell a fight. Maybe with Haye’s salesmanship, his smartness of creating a lot of hype, maybe this fight could be big in the U.S. After all, a product is only as good as the publicity it gets. And in boxing, it’s the third fundamental element of a big fight – the fighters themselves, the fans and the hype.
Maybe, but then again, maybe not. Maybe people will watch the Klitshcko’s fight just for the sole reason of seeing David Haye get his backside handed to him.
Maybe the Klitschko brothers need a guide to light the way. Maybe not a guide, but a fellow voyager. A fellow pilgrim who posses a light to accompany them to their mutual destination, because the light of both brothers combined is still not enough. Another radiance from another source to augment theirs. Radiance generated from hype.
Will it be David Haye? Of all the other pilgrims, he may be the only one in possession of the brightest torch. Let’s just hope that he does not let that flame extinguish.
Vitali and Wladimir Vladymyrovich Klitschko have made many voyages in their careers. But one remains unfulfilled.
There’s still that one voyage, that one trip,..the pilgrimage.
To the Mecca of Boxing. America.
Tags: 40 Responses to “The Brothers Klitschko:The Unfulifilled Pilgimage”
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LMFAO……..Klitschko need to impress America???
The Israelis never accepted Jesus Christ and you expect America to except Klitschko?
Wake the hell up!
morrison took up boxing at 22 years old…its almost impossible to reach the top 10 starting that late, much less win a title..
will i have to give you credit you say dumb things and are have a lot of racial pride….
vitali was ahead in that fight and i dont really care who would have won..,,my sense of racial pride doesnt depend on it…i dont know how good a shape either was in…but vitali was getting caught because he couldnt see…because of that it cut…and was ahead 4 rounds to 2…..lewis was younger than vitali is now and he doesnt make excuses…if lewis was truly not in shape then hes an idiot, but i dont believe it because he was scheduled to fight the number one contender before vitali stepped in..
and to think you put emanuel in any body’s corner and they magically win is ridiculus…and more of the same…manny has said that vladimir is the most gifted heavyweight he has ever worked with…why dont you take his word for it….
Emanuel Steward is the reason Vlad is winning he taught him how to hold and jab all night. If you take Steward away and have Steward train Povetkin or Haye they will beat Vlad very easy. Its the trainer : He was in Mccalls corner when Mccall ko Lewis. Rematch hes in Lewis corner and Lewis wins. Steward the reason why Holyfield won the rematch with Bowe.Take away Steward from Lewis corner and put him in Mike Tysons corner it would of been a different outcome. Steward is the master,thats why Vlad keeps surviving with the belt he (Steward) even says in a interview ( I dont think its good for Vlad to take on boxers with punching power because he doesnt have the chin ).
Come on Vitali should be a shame to want to fight the Giant .The Giant is and always will be a c fighter. Why would people want to see a circus fight come on. Theres other opponents out there for Vitali he just want to fight a flat footed easy opponent that he can beat. Come on he couldnt even take out an out of shape Lennox Lewis now imagine if Lewis came in at his best he wouldve of Ko Vitali in a few rounds. As the that fight kept going Lewis started catching Vitali with flush uppercuts if the fight would of kept going on Lewis would of ko him.
Dumb Dumb Holyfield did not box chageav he box Sultan for the wbo go get you some cable . Holyfield always had problems with lefthanders thats why he lost that one. The problem with the boxers i spoke about they are all old now but still dangerous for the k brothers. Come on Vitali only fights flat footed opponents thats out of shape, he just boxed a bum.Vlad ever since he got Knock out by a few bums he only fights soft punchers and still scare to take a punch. The only reason they want to fight Haye is because hes small and has a glass chin. The K brothers must be frighten from Haye because they wouldnt be trying to have rematch clauses with him.Like I said before a fight with Haye will go to distants . The K brothers is to safe in the ring scare to take a punch. Shoot a young Lou Saverese would beat them two.lol
thumbs up for the klits..[=
@LouisK
That is because the Klitschko’s come from a non-cracker country! The Russians/Ukrainian are good people, they had no hand in the African slavery!
@Toney! Excellent comment!
Have you also noticed that these White-american boxers always talk about skin colour? Even Tommy Morrison use to say that he believes he get’s alot of stick because he’s white! WTF? The guy was really famous in usa and even was in Rocky 5 when he just turned pro! The guy got too much attention for someone that was soo worthless! The wob belt is considered the worst at the time Morrison won it, he won it against Tim Tomashek(not Foreman) who had a record of 35win and 10losses(lol) and on top of that Morrison failed to defend as he was ko by sum bum!
The Klitschko’s have never once mentioned anyone skin colour because they have no racist mentality!
It’s funny that a clown like Jack dempsey got idolised! The guy was a open racist! He actually said that that he didn’t want to give Black people a shot at the title, because he believed that they are inferior! Can you believe the excuse this cracker came up with? Now look at Tommy Morrison, he barely won his title of a 50yrs old foreman, then immediately got ko in minute by a Z class fighter! However, Morrison was really popular in usa, even though he was soo useless!
The USA cannot use Klitschko for any racist politics as Klitschko mentioned that it was his dream to meet Black people and now Klitschko is busy visiting Africa every so often!
Amerika needs to stop being unfair towards the African and Russians! I thought there would have been a real change by now!
America is beyond a joke!
It’s funny how America wasn’t satisfied with a Black Champion and that’s why made movies to inspire a white hoper(from american) as Bernard Hopkins mentioned this recently! However, instead they got a white Champ from Russia which happened to be worse than a Black champion-according to the American politics! Atleast the Blacks champions were still representing usa!
Anything that isn’t beneficial to the American politics, will not be promoted – it’s as simple as that(it’s not rocket science)
chageav beat the giant first and holyfield merely followed his plan..though it was a closer fight with holyfield…the k brothers want to beat the giant because there is no one left to fight with david hiding out…and valuev—the giant, has been ducking them for years.,..and of course chageav also easily beat holyfield and as i just said, vladimir destroyed chageav…the stuff you’re saying sounds like you’ve never even watched boxing, much less been involved in it….vladimir has just beaten 2 fighters in a row ranked in the ring top 5…and is getting ready to fight another one…holyfield hasnt beaten a fighter in the ring top 10 in 6 years
will tho…are you homeless…holyfield lost to 2 fighters that vladimir beat easily, hell chageav easily beat holyfield…and vladimir nearly killed chageav…he didnt win a round…vladimir almost destroyed rahman who beat toney…both brothers beat samuel peter who also beat toney…just pull things out of your ass.. and mccall and tua havent been anywhere near the top 20 in 15 years…mccall and tua have to earn a title shot by beating someone at least in the top 20…vladimir beat mercer, was the first to knock him out, and mercer is tougher than tua or mccall…..hell tua had to hit rahman after the bell to beat him…and lost almost every round until them…and of course vladimir destroyed rahman…
David Haye is over hyped I believe an 40 year old mike tyson can beat him / to be honest Tyson could come back and collect all the belts if he was serious. I believe Haye can go to distants with both K brothers. This would be a very boring fight because both k brothers would be fighting very defensive and holding until the fight is over both fights will go to distants.
The problem is the brothers ran from james toney, Oliver Mccall, Holyfield and David Tua now ask your self why is that? For one even though them guys are old they still will give both brothers nightmares. All these fighters i just listed all have good chins plus boxing skills with punching power. The brothers both know Holyfield beat the giant why aint they trying to box him. THe brothers will never be consider great because of the opponents they hand pick plus they are in a weak division.
I’m not so sure that America is the Mecca of boxing anymore…
Vitali could compete and be successful in ANY area,Wlad I believe would not!Vitali has a great chin,stamina,decent punch and a mean streak along with being smart!Wlad’s chin would get tamed by Foremen,Tyson,Lewis,etc!
The thing is now there will NOT be any race that rules the fight game as NO RACE is superior to another,especially when it comes to fighting! The illusion that blacks and hispanics are better fighters is just that,an illusion created in north america where generally the best fighters are from the poorest places,enough said.As the years go by champion will come fronm every part of the globe!
mayweather is far more boring to watch and he has a big following in america…so its easy to figure out why the k brothers arent loved…look around at one of his fights 3/4 of the crowd is black…i dont know how many tirades of listened to about the fake, protected white champions
according to what i read 70 percent of boxing fans in america belong to minorities…very few white, middle class americans watch boxing or care about it…and younger white americans watch mma….they are russian…(not reallY) but that perception turns off older white fans…most white fans are quite a bit older…they are educated and soft spoken, which turns off almost all americans…we hate smart people…and they are white, the wrong color for most of their younger and middle aged fans
MC jack, I agree with all of your facts, and most of you opinions. I disagree with why they are not accepted by the American media. I believe it is because we Americans love fighters who get into brutal fights( Arturo Gatti ), score vicious KO’s(Mike Tyson), or have outragious personality(Ali, Mayweather). Most Klitschko fights are boring, but that is mostly their opponents fault, for not forcing either brother into an exciting fight. No-one was calling Vitali’s fight with Lewis boring!
My bad. Was just skimmimg through and missed the American part.
why do david haye fans always sound like they are about 15…ouch? is that the age that his 5th grade level trash talking is funny…or is it the age where they dont have enough boxing knowledge to realize he hasnt yet fought a real contender?
The Klitscho’s are all time greats. My fellow Americans need to get used to the idea. Let’s face it, Vitali has the highest KO percentage (95%) of any heavyweight champion in boxing history. He has never been down and has never been behind in a fight. I’ve seen all the greats. Vitali belongs right up there with them. As great as Dempsey was, he was only 6’1″ and 187 lbs. Marciano 5′!0″ 187 lbs. Joe Frazier
6′ 206 lbs. Even the immortal joe Louis 6’1″ 200 lbs. I always considered Louis the greatest, not the media hyped Ali.
Louis defended his title 25 times with 21 Ko’s a record which will probably never be broken. He held the title an impossibel 12 years. Having said that, how would the “Brown Bomber” get inside Vitali’s reach? Everyone that fights Vitali remarks about his incredible strentgh.
These guys are great fighters. Me thinks that they are too light complected to be accepted by the American media.
Enough of the nonsense about them being boring. Is that because your fighters can’t beat them?
Europe doesent need USA. specially not the Klitschkos.
The Klitschko’s are all-time greats. They would be competitive with any heavyweight of any time because of their conditioning, talent and size. I am not saying they would defeat anyone all time, just that they deserve to be included in the same group as other all-time greats.
They have dominated the heavyweight division for years. Every American fighter who hasn’t already been whipped by them is too scared to fight them. Give them their due.
Finally, their fights are only boring because of their dominance. Their fights lack drama because they are so much better than almost anybody they fight.
no 1 will touch the bros they ko evry 1 put in front of them haye knws he will get the same kod to thats why he wont fight them
The Klitschko’s have already fought in America and beaten the best that America could offer!
The only Pilgrimage remaining in the Klitschko’s life is to make it to Mecca MEDINA! This is where a very few converts go when they have accomplished everything in life! For example: when people like Muhammad Ali and even Michael Jackson(before he got killed) have every single thing in life that anyone could have dreamed off, they then look to higher things which is Islam! The average person thinks about fame and glory, but once your at that stage you start to think about eternal life/life after death etc-because no longer you are lost in your hunger! A guy with a full stomach makkes a wiser decision than a guy who is starving badly!
I blame the boxing media. they seem to be boxings own worst critic all you hear is this guy is a bum that guy has a glass chin to get in a ring takes balls it really dosn`t matter who you fight, plus the tv company`s need a kick up the backside an take some football budget and show some champion fights on teresteral tv at a sensible time with some build-up and not an advert between each round,I would love to see a boxing match result run across a big football match, or even show the ko blow on the news instead of a picture or two I think it`s an insult to the heavyweight title that the public can`t name the champ I am a true fan and feel very angry that I have to hunt high and low to find results.
THEY WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY FOR FIGHTING FAT SLOBS IN GERMANY
Anyone who believes to conquer the world, you would have to conquer America – is just a brainwashed sheep! We would be hearing the same thing about British Empire 70yrs ago, or about China in some years to come!
Also, has this writer forgot that Klitschko don’t only conquer the usa fighters, but actually destroy them?
The only thing the Klitschko’s don’t conquer in the Usa is the Media which the sheeps blindly follow! As history proves, no mater how great you are, you will always have haters! The Americans are just making themselves look like a bunch of sore losers! When history looks back at America, they will really look down at America!
@Telise….great point!
Hang on a minute, wasn’t Haye vs Valuev the most boring fight in history? Also wasn’t Ruiz charging at Haye all night long? If he wasn’t, this fight would have gone into history books for being the most boring fight(after Haye Vs Valuev)! What made the Ruiz Vs Haye fight really strange is that Ruiz never even clinched and charged at Haye all night(this is unusual from Ruiz) I wonder who was paying Ruiz trainer the most money?
the klitschkos have too much class, intelligence,, talent and integrity for the dummed down masses of the united states!!!!!!!……its a media fraud…the real informed intelligent fan knows the truth!!!!!!!
Wladimir hasn’t allowed a American fighter to last the distant with him in more than 10yrs! Name me another world champion that has done this in histroy? Maybe the Americans aren’t happy because Klitschko ko all of their fighters? For example: would your family love a person who kept on knocking out your family member? Would you then promote that person< so why should America promote the Klitschko's?
Well, Ali wasn’t given the respect he derserved at one time! When Ali refused to support America against Vietnam! The usa media, goverment etc called Ali a traitor, coward etc! He was recognised as the worst person in the usa! Ali wasn’t on his own like the Klitschko’s are! Ali had the likes of MalcolmX, Black Panther, NAtion of Islam, MLK who supported Ali and got the Muhammad Ali and rest of the Africans their rights!
As for the Klitschko’s, they come from a country that has NEVER ever allowed NATO on their doorstep, therefore USa will never ever give them credits unless China take over usa faster than expected as Russia and China are no1 partners!
they are good believe me. they dont need any US audience anymore
they making big checks in europe and already wrote history together
They don’t appeal because the heavyweight division is at a all time low
good article agree with everything u said