Klitschko Brothers Dominate Wrestling

This week I wanted to tell you about another set of brothers who helped each other do amazing things.  Ukrainian brothers Vitali and  Wladimir Klitschko dominate the Heavyweight Boxing scene.  Literally.  Between the two of them, they are the champions of all 5 boxing titles available worldwide.  A few weeks ago, Wladimir beat the last true contender so easily that the fans were somewhat bored.  Now Wladimir, 35, is going to be named 'Super Champion' because no one can beat him.  And at 35 years old, he isn't ready to retire.

Why would the boxing world do this?  Normally, when you have two fighters who hold all of the world boxing titles between them, you'd have them fight each other to see who is the Champion of all.  But that's where the problem lies:  these brothers won't fight each other.  They promised their mom when they were little boys that they wouldn't fight, and they are keeping their promise.  With that promise, they decided to help each other succeed in the ring instead.  When one is boxing, the other brother is his ringside coach.

When asked if they would fight each other, Wladimir said they would never do it because it would break his mother's heart.  And so, as one writer put it, maybe the answer to the question "Who is the greatest Heavyweight Boxer of all time?" is not one but both Klitschko brothers!  (Cooper)

Vitali, the older brother, is the first professional world champion fighter who holds a PhD degree. That gave him the nickname "Dr. Ironfist."   He currently holds the WBD Championship title. Wladimir, the younger brother, is the current WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO Heavyweight Champion.  He also holds a PhD degree. His nickname is "Dr. Steelhammer."
Both brothers speak several languages and play Chess like champions.

Their chess game has become a vital part of their fighting strategies.  Vitali said, "Chess is similar to boxing.  You have to develop a strategy and you need to think two or three steps ahead about what  your opponent is doing.  You have to be smart."(Wikipedia, Vitali Klitschko)  Indeed, that strategic mindset has foiled many of their opponents, who just try to beat them up.  Vitali and Wladimir play with their opponents, like a cat plays with a mouse before he eats him.

I like this story because it shows that boys can keep promises that they make to their mothers!  And it shows us brothers can share something as 'unsharable' as world domination of a sport.

Sources:

Cooper, Paul.  “The Klitschko Brothers—Unifying Heavyweight Boxing.”  Boxing Herald.com  30 June 2011:  n. page. web. 23 Aug 2012.

“Klitschko Brothers” Wikipedia 24 Jul 2012:  n. page. web. 23 Aug 2012.

“Vitali Klitschko” Wikipedia 21 Aug 2012:  n. page. web. 23 Aug 2012.

“Wladimir Klitschko” Wikipedia 23 Aug 2012:  n. page. web. 23 Aug 2012.

Warner, Rick.  “Giant Klitschko Brothers Promised Mom Not To Fight Each Other.” Bloomberg  27 Apr 2011: n. page. web. 23 Aug 2012.