Klitschko brothers represented Ukraine at the 1996 Olympics, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division. In 1996, when still an amateur, Vitali Klitschko tested positive for a banned substance and was removed from the Ukrainian boxing team. In June 1999, Vitali Klitschko won the WBO Heavyweight title from Herbie Hide via second-round knockout. He successfully defended the title twice before losing it to Chris Byrd. Six months later, younger brother Wladimir dethroned Byrd via lopsided points decision. He registered five successful title defenses, all by TKO until suffering an upset TKO loss to Corrie Sanders in March 2003. Vitali Klitschko lost
Wladimir Klitschko December 2013, Klitschko and his fiancée Hayden Panettiere visited the Euromaidan-protests in Kiev. His brother Vitali was one of the leading figures of these protests. He and his fiancée addressed the crowds. Wladimir and his brother Vitali have never fought each other in a professional fight as their mother made them promise to never fight each other. In 2008, after Wladimir's photo session held for "Vanity Fair" magazine with Karolína Kurková, she claimed to have had a relationship with the boxer. Klitschko speaks four languages: English, German, Russian and Ukrainian. He was friends with the late German heavyweight legend Max