Chris Byrd
Chris Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is a retired and former professional boxer. He is the former WBO and IBF heavyweight champion. His nickname is "Rapid Fire"
Early life
Chris Byrd was the youngest of eight children growing up in Flint, Michigan. He began boxing at age 5, training in his father (Joe Sr.)'s Joe Byrd Boxing Academy. His father continued to train and manage Byrd as a professional. Byrd attended Flint Northwestern High School.
Amateur career
Byrd began competing in the ring at age 10, and compiled an impressive 275 wins in the amateur ranks. He was a three-time U.S. amateur champion (1989, 1991, and 1992). He was on the 1991 U.S. National boxing Team that became the first (and only) U.S. team to score a tie against the heralded Cuban team. Byrd won the silver medal in the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics as amiddleweight, losing to Cuba's Ariel Hernández in the final.
Amateur Hightlights
- Lost in the 1988 Olympic Trials at Light Welterweight, losing to eventual United States representative Todd Foster.
- 1989 United States Amateur Light Middleweight Champion
- 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, lost to Torsten Schmitz (East Germany) on points, in Light Middleweight competition.
- 1991 United States Amateur Middleweight Champion
- 1991 World Championships, lost at Middlweight to Ramon Garbey (Cuba)
- 1992 United States Amateur Middleweight Champion
- 1992 Middleweight Gold Medalist at Canada Cup. Results were:
- Justin Crawford (Australia) won on points
- Joe Laryea (Ghana) won on points
- Igor Anashkin (Russia) won on points
- 1992 Qualified as a Middleweight at the Olympic Trials in Worcester, MA. Results were:
- Derrick James won on points
- William Joppy won on points
- Mike DeMoss won on points
- Mike DeMoss won on points, this bout was at the Olympic Box-Offs in Phoenix, AZ.
- Captured the Middleweight Silver Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Results were:
- Mark Edwards (Great Britain) 21-3
- Alexander Lebziak (Russia/Unified Team) 16-7
- Ahmed Dine (Algeria) 21-2
- Chris Johnson (Canada) 17-3
- Ariel Hernandez (Cuba) 7-12
Professional career
Byrd turned professional on January 28, 1993, knocking out 10 of his first 13 opponents. Byrd moved up to heavyweight three fights into his professional career.
Byrd remained undefeated for his first 26 fights, knocking off then-notable opponents like Phil Jackson, Lionel Butler, Uriah Grant, Bert Cooper, Craig Peterson, Frankie Swindell, Jimmy Thunder, undefeated Eliecer Castillo and Ross Puritty.
However in 1999, Byrd's undefeated record came to a dead end when he fought undefeated Ike Ibeabuchi. With 48 seconds left in the fifth round, a left-handed bolo punch followed with a right hook sent Byrd to the canvas, face first.
During the last week of March 2000, Byrd was offered the chance to be the replacement (for Donovan Ruddock) against undefeated champion Vitali Klitschko in Berlin, Germany (Klitschko's adopted home country) for the WBO Heavyweight Title. He therefore had only seven days to prepare for the fight (not the customary 6–12 weeks). Byrd struggled greatly in the fight, trailing after nine rounds by scores of 88–83 (on two cards) and 89–82 (on one card), i.e. losing seven or eight of those rounds. However, Klitschko severely injured his shoulder and was unable to continue after the ninth round. The injury that Klitschko suffered was a torn shoulder rotator cuff, which required major surgery and a 7 month lay-off. Despite trailing on all three of the judges' scorecards, Byrd walked away the winner.
Six months later, Byrd was back in Germany to defend the title against Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali's younger, more agile brother. Twelve rounds later, Byrd had lost a lopsided unanimous decision and the WBO belt after being knocked down twice.
Byrd returned to the U.S., signed with Don King and beat Maurice Harris to win the United States Boxing Association heavyweight belt in Madison Square Garden. He was now a top-five contender for the IBF title. After winning his next match (a title defense against New Zealand's top contender David Tua) Byrd eventually received his mandatory shot at the vacant IBF world Heavyweight Championship against shopworn legend Evander Holyfield in Atlantic City. On December 14, 2002, Byrd won a lopsided unanimous decision and the IBF title.
Byrd has successfully defended the IBF belt against: Fres Oquendo in 2003 (match ended in a controversial win for Byrd in which most people felt Oquendo won), a highly entertaining draw with "Andrew" Golota and a decision win over friendJameel McCline in 2004, and DaVarryl Williamson in 2005.
On April 22, 2006, Byrd lost to Wladimir Klitschko in a fight for the IBF and IBO title. The fight took place at SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Byrd was heavily dominated throughout the fight, was down in the fifth, and again in the seventh. Referee Wayne Kelly stopped the fight after the second knockdown when Byrd had an open cut near his eyes. Klitschko won in a TKO
After losing to Alexander Povetkin, Byrd would drop about 40 pounds to return to the light heavyweight division. He fought Shaun George on May 16, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Byrd was dropped by George in round one and rocked again in round two. It was a sign of things to come as George hammered Byrd with his right hand at will, finally flooring Byrd twice in the ninth round. Byrd beat the count after the first knockdown, but was then battered down again and the bout was waved off by the referee.
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko (Ukrainian: Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́, [ʋiˈtɑʎiɪ̯ klɪtʃˈkɔ]; English: /vɨˈtæli ˈklɪtʃkoʊ/, German: Vitali Klitschko; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously held the WBO and WBC titles. Klitschko is the first professional boxing world champion to hold a Ph.D. Some experts cite him as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
Klitschko is known for his powerful punches and exceptional chin. With a 88.89% knockout percentage rate, he holds the best knockout-to-fight ratio of any champion in heavyweight boxing history. He has never been knocked down in any professional boxing bout, and has also never lost a decision. His two losses have come via a shoulder injury during a fight and a deep cut above his eye, which did however result in TKO losses. His power and his possession of a Ph.D has led to his nickname, Dr. Ironfist.
Klitschko's younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko, is the current WBA Super, IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine world heavyweight champion. He was awarded Germany's highest civilian award, theFederal Cross of Merit, for his varied accomplishments. On December 2011, Ring Magazine rated Klitschko as the number ten pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Boxing career
Klitschko won the super heavyweight championship at the first World Military Games in Italy in 1995. Vitali won the silver medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin,Germany, where he was defeated by Russia's Alexei Lezin in the final. In his autobiography, published in Germany in 2004, the boxer revealed that he tested positive for a banned steroid in 1996. He attributed the presence of the drug to treatment of a leg injury but was dismissed from the Ukrainian boxing team and missed the Atlanta Olympics. His brother Wladimir moved up from heavyweight to super-heavyweight to take his place in the squad. His amateur record was 195–15 with 80 knockouts.
WBO title
Klitschko began his professional boxing career in 1996, winning his first twenty-four fights by either early knockout or technical knockout (TKO). He and Wladimir signed with the German athlete-promotion company Universum. With both brothers holding Ph.D.s and being multilingual, their refined and articulate personalities made for mainstream marketability when they moved to Germany and Universum. In time, they became national celebrities in their adopted home country. In his 25th pro fight, on 26 June 1999, Klitschko won the WBO heavyweight title from Herbie Hide of the United Kingdom by a 2nd round knockout.
He successfully defended the title twice. He defeated Ed Mahone by knockout in the third round, and beat Obed Sullivan who retired after the ninth round.
Loss to Chris Byrd
By April 2000 Vitali Klitschko was one of the top stars in the heavyweight division, and a prime candidate to be the next undisputed champion. He had won all 27 of his contests by knockout. On April 1 Klitschko had a third title defence against the American Chris Byrd, who was a late replacement. Byrd made himself a difficult target, and tried to thwart Klitschko's offence by being elusive. Klitschko won most of the rounds and was heading towards a comprehensive points victory when he suffered a serious shoulder injury. After the ninth round Klitschko notified corner that he had a shoulder pain threw in the towel, thus handing Klitschko his first defeat and awarding Byrd the win by knockout. At the time of the stoppage Klitschko had a lead on all three judges' scorecards (89–82, and 88–83 twice). Klitschko, who was later diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, received much criticism for quitting the fight.
Klitschko rebounded from his loss to Byrd by reeling off five victories in a row, earning himself a shot at WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 21, 2003 in Los Angeles, California.
Klitschko vs. Lennox Lewis
Klitschko, a 4–1 underdog, dominated the early going and stunned Lewis in the second round with two hard rights. In the third, Lewis landed a big right hand of his own that opened a deep cut above Klitschko's left eye. Klitschko was able to rally and Lewis, who had weighed in at his career heaviest for the fight, was breathing heavily after a few rounds. Both men traded big shots, and in the sixth Lewis got through with a hard uppercut. Before the seventh round, the ringside doctor inspected the wound and deemed it severe enough to threaten eye damage if struck again, stopping the fight despite Klitschko's pleas to continue. Klitschko was ahead on all three scorecards 58–56 (4 rounds to 2) at the time of the stoppage, but because the wound was a result of punches from Lewis and not a headbutt, Lewis won by technical knockout. Klitschko, despite the loss, gained international respect for fighting so well against the heavyweight champion for 6 rounds. Negotiations for a December 6 rematch began. After negotiations collapsed, Vitali defeated Kirk Johnson in WBC Eliminator bout on December 6 date, setting up a mandatory rematch with Lewis. In January 2004, WBC announced that it will strip Lewis of the belt if he lets pass a March 15 deadline to sign for a rematch with Vitali. Shortly thereafter, Lewis announced his retirement and vacated the title. For years after this fight, Klitschko would still occasionally call out Lewis, despite the fact that Lewis has been retired since early 2004, for a rematch.
WBC Heavyweight Champion
Around this time, the Klitschko brothers moved from Hamburg, Germany to Los Angeles, California.
In January 2004, they notified Universum that they would not re-sign when their contracts expired in April. Universum sued the brothers, arguing that their recent injuries had triggered a clause binding them beyond April. The suit was ultimately resolved in favour of the Klitschkos in November 2009.
Klitschko earned an 8th-round TKO victory over South African Corrie Sanders on 24 April 2004, to capture the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship which had been vacated by Lewis. Sanders had knocked out (2nd Round TKO) younger brother Wladimir on 8 March 2003. This fight was also for The Ring Magazine belt. Klitschko was rocked early by Sanders, but by using movement and strong punching he broke down Sanders and forced the referee to stop the bout.
Vitali Klitschko's first WBC title defense was against British boxer Danny Williams. Williams had become suddenly marketable from a KO over Mike Tyson in round 4. Klitschko scored a technical knockout against Williams in 8 rounds on 11 December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth to show support for the Ukrainian presidential opposition movement. Klitschko knocked Williams down in the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th rounds before the fight was stopped. Immediately afterward, Klitschko dedicated his victory to democracy in his native Ukraine, and also to the Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, whom he supported in the 26 December 2004, election revote.
On 9 November 2005, Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement from professional boxing and vacated his title. He had been training to fight Hasim Rahman, but unfortunately, just 9 days before the fight, he had entangled his leg with his sparring partner, causing them to fall heavily. He snapped his Anterior Cruciate Ligament, a very serious injury, which would take up to a year to heal, with surgery, and possibly would be career ending. To avoid keeping the title out of use, he retired. The WBC was grateful for his consideration. On other occasions he cited regrets about his suddenly mounting injuries, a desire to leave the sport while still on top, and political aspirations in his home country of Ukraine. Following his retirement, the WBC conferred "champion emeritus" status on Klitschko, and assured him he would become the mandatory challenger if and when he decided to return.
In the German Bild-Zeitung, he announced on 24 January 2007 his comeback and requested to fight again.
Political career
Klitschko began campaigning for mayor of Kiev shortly after his retirement in 2005. He lost the 2006 mayoral election to Leonid Chernovetskyi but placed second with 26% of the vote, ahead of the incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko. Klitschko campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and lead the bloc "Civic party" PORA-ROP (the parties PORA and Reforms and Order Party) in the simultaneously held local elections for the Kiev City Council. Analysts stated his relatively late entry into the campaign might have cost him votes. Still, Klitschko was elected as a people's deputy to the Kiev City Council since "Civic party" PORA-ROP won 14 seats in the 2006 election. In the May 2008 Kiev local election he ran again and won 18% of the vote. Klitschko simultaneously led the Vitaliy Klychko Bloc that won 10.61% of the votes and 15 seats and again he was elected into the Kiev City Council. His campaign hired Rudy Giuliani as a consultant for the campaign. In 2008 he was also appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe.
Klitschko became the leader of the political party UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko in April 2010. During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections the party won representatives in (Ukrainian) municipalities and Oblast Councils (regional parliaments).
In October 2011 Klitschko announced that he would compete in the 2012 Kiev mayoral election.
Political positions
Klitschko sees the European Union as Ukraine's "model for our future political and economic development". He believes current President Viktor Yanukovych and his Government are "deliberately destroying the integration (into Europe) prospects of Ukraine". Klitschko is in favour of NATO-Ukraine cooperation.
Klitschko wants less corruption and more transparency in Ukrainian politics. He also advocates lower taxes to stimulate the economy of Ukraine.
Klitschko did accuse in October 2011 President Yanukovych and the Azarov Government of "doing everything to manipulate the rules to stay in power longer"; furthermore (in December 2011) he assert(ed) "every statement of the government" as "a continuation of lies and disinformation".
In December 2011 Klitschko described the judicial system of Ukraine as "complete degradation" and accused it of violating human rights and humiliating its prisoners.
Personal life
His father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko (1947–2011), was a Soviet Air Force major general and a military attaché of Ukraine in East Germany. He was also one of the commanders in charge of cleaning up the effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in 1986 and was afterward diagnosed with cancer. His mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna. Klitschko is married to Natalia Egorova, a former athlete and model. They met in Kiev and got married on 26 April 1996. He has three children, Yegor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max (named after the former World Heavyweight Champion Max Schmeling).
In 1996, he graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at Kiev University. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on "talent and sponsorship in sports" at the Kiev University of Physical Science and Sports, and his Ph.D. in Sports Science was conferred.
Both Vitali and his brother are avid chess players. Vitali is a friend of former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the two have played, with Kramnik always winning. Vitali has commented that "chess is similar to boxing. You need 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. But what's the difference between chess and boxing? In chess, nobody is an expert, but everybody plays. In boxing everybody is an expert, but nobody fights."
Vitali and his brother also have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to support the needs of schools, churches and children. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries.
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