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 peak of second best on "The Ring"s pound for pound list. BoxRec currently ranks him as the 20th best boxer of all time and the greatest European boxer of all time, pound for pound. Until his loss to Tyson Fury in 2015, Klitschko was also recognized as lineal champion by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, while the WBA recognised him as one of its "Super champions", a distinction given to boxers who hold that title in addition to those by other sanctioning bodies in the same division. From 2006 to 2015, Wladimir and his older brother Vitali (himself a former