Playboy Interview: Vitali Klitschko

Q1

[Q] Playboy: Your father was a Soviet helicopter pilot. What was growing up on Soviet military bases like?

[A] Klitschko: It was hard on my mother and father. My father would come home with a new task and tell my mother, "I'll call you in a month and let you know where you need to go." My mother would have to pack all our things and drive us to a new base. But for us children it was easy. There were new bases, new environments, new friends and new schools. One base was in the desert. The next was in the deep forest. One base was close to a Soviet space facility, so we got to watch a lot of the rocket launches. It was always interesting.

Q2

[Q] Playboy: Did being the new guy in school lead to many fights?

[A] Klitschko: I changed schools seven times. I'd come home with a bloody nose and black eyes. Then I learned to defend myself. That's not why I went into boxing, though. This was just life. You had to be smart and learn to make connections and friends fast. You had to establish your position quickly.

Q3

[Q] Playboy: If you didn't go into boxing to learn to defend yourself, why did you?

[A] Klitschko: I started boxing when I was 12 or 13. Then I went to karate, to kickboxing and back to boxing. The military base I was on when I started was in the desert. There was nothing else to do. There were no toys for children, so the adults kept us busy. Every base had activities. Some had go-karts, some had photography, but every base had boxing.

Q4

[Q] Playboy: Do your parents ever watch your fights?

[A] Klitschko: A long time ago they did, but now I forbid it. When I was 21 years old I went to Norwich, England for a kickboxing championship. The guy I fought was from Norwich, and this big arena was full of everyone who knew him. His family--mother, father, wife, children--was in the first row. I knocked him out, and he fell right in front of them. I could see the pain in the eyes of his parents and his wife. I know it's a hard sport, but I never want to bring that pain to my parents. So I told them no one could come to my fights. I don't need that emotional pressure. My wife is the one person who comes. I forbid her to, but she tells me she'll buy a ticket anyway. I can't stop her. I don't stand a chance. It's one fight I always lose.

Q5

[Q] Playboy: What did you think of the United States back then?

[A] Klitschko: All the information they gave us on the U.S. was about how it was a bad country with bad people who wanted to kill us. When we were children we watched anti-American cartoons. Most professional boxing was banned in the Soviet Union, but the government would sometimes show Muhammad Ali fights. When Ali protested the war in Vietnam they began allowing information on him--they tried to use his movement for peace as a tool against the U.S. government. We thought it was a horrible country, and we were told to be happy we were lucky enough to be born in the Soviet Union.

Then in 1989, when I was 18, I went to the U.S. for the first time for a kickboxing tournament. I was terrified. I was in Florida. I went to Disney World and stood there with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't understand it. This wasn't the country they'd taught me about. When I got home I told my father, "Nothing is true. All the information on TV and in the newspaper is a lie. We have been brainwashed."

Q6

[Q] Playboy: Did you bring anything back from the U.S.? (continued on page 144)Klitschko(continued from page 87)

[A] Klitschko: We always wanted to try Coke. I had heard about it but had never tried it. When I got here I drank so much I got sick. I brought a can back to the Ukraine for my brother. He was so happy. I also brought him some Bubblicious gum.

Q7

[Q] Playboy: Your brother, Wladimir, like you, is a former WBO champion. What would it take for the two of you to fight?

[A] Klitschko: My brother always says he never had a chance to fight me. There's a five-year age difference. So when he was 10, I was 15. Now we would never fight. We promised my mother. I don't want to fight my brother anyway. It's too dangerous for me.

Q8

[Q] Playboy: You were dismissed from the 1996 Olympics after you had tested positive for a banned substance. It was learned that a doctor had given you steroids to treat a leg injury without your knowledge. How upset were you?

[A] Klitschko: I was so disappointed. Nobody supported me. I tried to explain that I didn't know where it came from, but no one would believe me. Eventually it came out that my doctor had given me medication that contained a banned substance without my knowledge. I thought I would only get fined, but they cut me from the team. I took it hard. My goal was an Olympic gold medal, and I knew I could beat everybody. I was already at the top of the amateur rankings. I was really depressed after that because someone else made a mistake that I paid for. But my brother made my dream come true. He was supposed to fight heavyweight. After I was dropped he moved up in weight class to super-heavyweight, the division I was supposed to fight in. He brought the gold medal home and said, "Brother, this is for you."

Q9

[Q] Playboy: What is Don King really like?

[A] Klitschko: He called me at the Olympic Games. My brother had won the gold medal. A guy next to me in the stands handed me a cell phone and said, "Don King wants to talk to you." He wanted to be our manager. He brought us to a Mike Tyson fight and gave us a proposal. He even sang to us once, at his house in Las Vegas. He sat at the piano and began playing. I was surprised--I had no idea he was so good! Then I noticed the pedals moving automatically. His feet weren't on them. The piano was playing by itself. I realized you have to be careful with this guy. Everything is sleight of hand.

Q10

[Q] Playboy: You have a Ph.D. in sports science from the University of Kiev, making you the most educated champ in boxing history. Your thesis was titled "Talent and Talent Encouragement." Give us the gist of it.

[A] Klitschko: The focus was on talent and where it comes from. Is talent a gift from God? Does it come from your parents? Is it self-developed? Why do thousands of boys and girls play a sport but only a few have the skills to succeed at it? It's not just sports. It also applies to things like music, art and business.

Q11

[Q] Playboy: You lost the WBO heavyweight title to Chris Byrd in 2000 when you quit after tearing a rotator cuff in your shoulder. How difficult was it to throw in the towel?

[A] Klitschko: It was really hard. I couldn't see. The pain made my eyes foggy, and the ringside doctor told me fighting through it could end my career. I worry about my health, and I knew I couldn't fight anymore. Two days later I had to have major surgery. It was harder to listen to the critics and the fans who said I had no heart.

Q12

[Q] Playboy: A ringside doctor stopped your 2003 fight against Lennox Lewis after you suffered a cut to your eyelid that later required at least 60 stitches. Lewis has said if the fight had gone a couple more rounds he would have knocked you out. What do you think?

[A] Klitschko: Lewis told everyone before the fight that he would knock me out in three rounds. When they stopped the fight after six rounds I was ahead on points. I beat him, but the doctor stopped the fight. Lewis talks too much. After the fight he promised me a rematch. Then he told me I had to fight Kirk Johnson first. So I fought Kirk Johnson and knocked him out. The boxing commission began putting pressure on Lewis, saying if he didn't fight me he would lose the title. He retired instead. I am the person who sent him into retirement. He made a smart decision.

Q13

[Q] Playboy: Which loss was harder to get over, the one to Byrd or to Lewis?

[A] Klitschko: They were very different. After the fight with Byrd everyone criticized me. After the fight with Lewis everyone gave me compliments. People came up to me and apologized for their criticism. I changed their opinions.

Q14

[Q] Playboy: You used the Eagles' "Hotel California" as your intro music for the Lewis fight. Couldn't you find something more intimidating?

[A] Klitschko: A journalist once asked me about my music after I went pro, and I said, "There was music?" I am concentrating so hard on the fight that I don't hear it. Music is for the audience, not the fighter. I just use my favorite stuff. I used "Hotel California" against Lewis in Los Angeles, and everyone thought it was a marketing move. It wasn't. It was just a song I really like.

Q15

[Q] Playboy: You've said that when heavyweight Danny Williams knocked out Mike Tyson he destroyed your dream. What did you mean by that?

[A] Klitschko: When I was 15 Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champ in history. Gorbachev allowed the fight to air on Soviet TV. We were all excited about seeing it. I told everybody I would be a professional world champion one day and would beat Tyson. All my friends laughed and said it would never happen. I remember looking at the TV and saying, "One day I'll fight you and beat you, Iron Mike." It was a big motivation for my entire professional career. We finally discussed it with his management. He was fighting Williams first, and we didn't think anything of it. Who was Danny Williams? He was nothing for Tyson. But then Williams knocked him out and destroyed my dream. I was so disappointed and angry. I decided I would show everyone I would beat the guy who beat Tyson, so I fought Williams and knocked him out.

Q16

[Q] Playboy: And now, because you can't get a rematch with Lewis, you're fighting Hasim Rahman, who knocked out Lewis. Where are the big names?

[A] Klitschko: Right now there's a new generation of boxers, a lot of strong fighters, but no one knows their names. I have a lot of respect for Hasim Rahman. He's a good, strong fighter. He knocked out Lewis because Lewis underestimated him. I won't underestimate him. I'll give my best and remain world champ for a long time.

Q17

[Q] Playboy: We've heard you used to go to the movies every day to brush up on your English. Would you recommend it as a learning tool?

[A] Klitschko: When I was a child my mother tried to get me to study other languages. But I told her, "For what? We'll never have a chance to travel outside our country." Then the iron curtain came down, and suddenly we had a chance to travel. I had to learn fast. Movies helped, and they were free on the base. I speak Russian, German, French and English. Right now my son is my biggest English teacher, and he's been learning for only five years. He comes home from preschool, and I can't understand him. He has been helping me more than movies.

Q18

[Q] Playboy: You were outspoken about the elections in the Ukraine. Do you believe celebrities should play a role in politics and world affairs?

[A] Klitschko: Many people asked me why I got involved. They said I should stay out of the election. But I don't want to be passive. Every citizen should help develop the future of his country. I did it for my friends and family. My parents still live in the Ukraine. If I have a choice between a dictatorship and a democracy, I will always choose democracy because I know what it's like to grow up in a dictatorship.

Q19

[Q] Playboy: You once played Gary Kasparov at chess. What happened?

[A] Klitschko: Chess was another activity taught to children on the military base. Everyone played. Kasparov was our idol. One time in Germany when I was 25 or 26 we were invited to play him. He played 20 of us simultaneously and won every game. I needed time to think of my next move, but Kasparov never even stopped to think. I was shocked.

Q20

[Q] Playboy: Give us a chess tip.

[A] Klitschko: 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.