Vitali Klitschko for the past ten years prior to election day; and Klitschko had lived for many years in Ukraine and Germany, where, according to media reports, he has a residence permit. Opinion polls since early 2011 showed that the predicted percentage of votes that Klitschko would gain in the first round of the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election enlarged from 4.8% in December 2011 to 15.1% in February 2013, and an October 2013 Razumkov Centre poll predicted 19.3%. Klitschko was one of the dominant figures of the Euromaidan protests. During these protests, he retired from boxing. He confirmed on 28 February 2014
Vitali Klitschko Foreman are the only heavyweight boxers in history to defend a world title after turning 40. Being the first professional boxing world champion to hold a PhD degree, and in reference to his punching power, Klitschko's nickname was "Dr. Ironfist". His younger brother, Wladimir, is a former unified world heavyweight champion. From 2006 until 2015, Vitali and Wladimir dominated heavyweight boxing, a period typically known as the "Klitschko Era" of the division. Klitschko formally began his political career in 2006 when he placed second in the Kiev mayoral race. In 2010, he founded the party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform