By Joe Harrison

It was one year ago that Vitali Klitschko retired from the sport of boxing. This would mark the end of the original Klitschko Dream, the dream of both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko being world heavyweight champions together. Ask yourselves, was there ever a chance in the first place, and will there ever be another chance?

Fulfilling the dream of being world champions together seemed realistic. If you observe all the achievements made between the Klitschko brothers during their careers, reaching their goal would have seemed inevitable.

Both brothers had their pro debut at the Sporthalle in Hanburg, Germany on November 16th of ’96, and both scored early knockout victories. Less than two years later, in February of ’98, Wladimir won the vacant WBC International title by knocking out Marcus McIntyre in the 3rd round. Three months later, Vitali won the WBO Inter-Continental title from defeating Dicky Ryan by 5th-round TKO. At this point, they already held titles together, now they just needed world titles.

As the brothers defended their belts, the knockout victories were nonstop. Vitali went after the vacant European (EBU) title, which he won by defeating Mario Schiesser, a 2nd-round TKO in October of ‘98. Wladimir continued to defend his WBC International belt. However, due to his overconfidence and inexperience, Wladimir lost his belt when he faced Ross Purrity in December of ’98, losing by an 11th-round TKO.

After suffering his first defeat, Wladimir pulled himself together and began collecting knockout victories again. In July of ’99, he won the vacant WBA International title by scoring a 5th-round TKO over Joseph Chingangu. As Wladimir was redeeming himself, Vitali was about to get his first shot at a world championship.

In June of ’99, Vitali knocked out Herbie Hide in the 2nd round to become the new WBO Heavyweight Champion. The Klitschko Dream was partially complete. Now it was time for Wladimir to go for a world title. But it wouldn’t be that easy.

First off, Wladimir still needed more time to climb back up the rankings. During that process, he won the European (EBU) title in December of ’99, and then won back the WBC International title in March of ’00. Then, just as Wladimir was approaching the world championship scene, Vitali suffered his first loss.

After two successful title defenses, Vitali lost the WBO title to Chris Byrd in April of ’00. The bout was declared a 9th-round TKO victory for Byrd after Vitali sustained a shoulder injury and could not continue fighting, even though he was comfortably ahead on all three scorecards. Because he quit, he gained a reputation for lacking heart. It would take some time before boxing fans would hold his name high again.

By October of ’00, Wladimir had finally done enough to earn a shot at his first world title. He faced Chris Byrd for the WBO belt. When Wladimir scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Byrd, he avenged his brother’s loss and became the new WBO Heavyweight Champion.

As Wladimir defended the WBO championship, Vitali had to work his way back up to world championship level. Climbing back up the rankings, Vitali defeated European (EBU) champ Timo Hoffmann by decision in November of ‘00, and then won the WBA International title by scoring a 1st-round knockout of Orlin Norris in January of ‘01.

Next, he scored knockout victories over Ross Purrity in December of ‘01, Vaughn Bean in February of ‘02, and finally, Larry Donald in a WBA eliminator in November of ‘02. Finally, there was another opportunity for both brothers to be world heavyweight champions simultaneously.

While Vitali was preparing to fight for the WBA championship, Wladimir was anxiously awaiting a shot against undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. However, in May of ’03, Wladimir was knocked down four times by Corrie “the Sniper” Sanders, en route to a 2nd-round TKO loss. Once again, the Klitschko Dream was out of grasp.

Fans everywhere were shocked when it was announced that Lennox Lewis would defend his WBC title against Vitali Klitschko in June of ’03. It was even more shocking when the bout finally took place, as Vitali displayed his skills and power against the unprepared champion. During the battle, Vitali suffered a cut above his eye, which was caused by a Lewis punch. It was so grotesque, the bout was stopped and the victory was awarded to Lewis by 6th-round TKO. At the time of stoppage, Vitali was up on all three scorecards. He no longer had the reputation for lacking heart.

Although Vitali was disappointed that Lewis chose to retire instead of giving him a rematch, the WBC belt was still up for grabs. After defeating Kirk Johnson by a 2nd-round TKO in a WBC eliminator in December of ‘03, Vitali was ready to face Corrie Sanders for the vacant WBC title. Plus, Wladimir was given an opportunity to win back the WBO title by facing Lamon Brewster. So once again, there was an opportunity for the Klitschko Dream to come true.

In April of ’04, Brewster became the second boxer in two years to upset Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO heavyweight title. In a fight that he was winning, Wladimir collapsed in the middle of the ring at the end of the 5th round, apparently from total fatigue. The official declared that the bout was over.

Two weeks later, Vitali defeated Sanders by an 8th-round TKO, becoming the new WBC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the Ring Magazine’s Heavyweight Champion. He made his first defense successfully in December of ‘04, scoring an 8th-round TKO over Mike Tyson conqueror Danny Williams. As for Wladimir, he would once again climb his way back into the championship scene.

Even with the exposure of Wladimir’s chin, achieving the Klitschko Dream was not impossible. With the help of Emanuel Steward as his new trainer, Wladimir quickly climbed back up the rankings by defeating names such as DaVarryl Williamson, Eliseo Castillo, and Samuel Peter. Then last April, he defeated Chris Byrd by a 7th-round TKO to win the IBF championship. But it was too late. Because of continuous injuries, and claiming that his body had failed him, Vitali retired from the sport of boxing, November of ‘05. His final record is 35-2, 34 KOs, with both losses coming by injury.

With Vitali gone, the new Klitschko Dream is for Wladimir to unify the world heavyweight titles. After dominating Byrd and Brock, this goal seems extremely possible. Then again, since King promotes Briggs and partially promotes Valuev, that could cause problems. King normally wants options on the winner, and Klitschko will not have any part of that. The only non-King fighter is Maskaev, but first he has to worry about his fight next month against Peter Okhello, then there’s the winner of the Toney-Peter rematch, and then the possibility of taking on Bernard Hopkins.

While Wladimir proceeds to dominate the heavyweight division, older brother Vitali is always at his side. In the past, whenever anyone asks Vitali when he’s returning to boxing, he always replies that he will only return if Lennox Lewis returns. Yet, whenever he accompanies Wladimir to the ring, he always carries a facial expression that is both serious and determined, a look that remains even after Wladimir is victorious. It is a look of pure dissatisfaction. Will Vitali look this way until Wladimir unifies the titles, or is the real Klitschko Dream still of both brothers being world champions together?