Wladimir Klitschko Schmeling. On 29 March 2012, during a charitable auction in Kiev, Ukraine, Klitschko auctioned off his 1996 Olympic gold medal to a buyer who bid $1 million. Klitschko said he would use the money to help the dreams of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children. After the sale, the buyer immediately returned the medal out of respect for Klitschko and because he wanted it to remain with the Klitschko family. Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Wladimirowitsch Klitschko (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the
Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Byrd of the fight with Byrd being elusive and making himself a difficult target. After 9 rounds Vitali had suffered a torn rotator cuff and despite being clearly ahead on the scorecards (88-83, 88-83, & 89-82) he retired on his stool handing the win to Byrd. Harold Lederman, HBO's unofficial judge, had Klitschko ahead 88-83 at the time of the stoppage. Vitali's status as a rising star of the Heavyweight division took a knock after this with HBO commentator Larry Merchant said, "He doesn’t have the mentality of a champion. I can hardly believe what I just saw." Byrd's first defence