Editorials

Ranking the Best Siblings in Boxing History

All siblings fight. A select few, like the Klitschko brothers, do it inside the ring. They were the very best heavyweights of their time. But were they the greatest siblings of all time?

2. Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko

Lewis vs. Klitschko PA Photo

Enter the brother kings of the heavyweight division.

Closer to seven feet than six and nearing 250 pounds, the Klitschko’s are two of the most successful champions in history.

Wladimir Klitschko (64-3), a sculpted giant—polished by the guru Emanuel Steward, implores a “jab-and-grab” style that can be as unbearable as it is unbeatable. But his 18-consecutive title defenses speak for themselves.

His older brother, Vitali Klitschko (45-2), now retired, is the gunslinger of the family. His TKO of Corrie Sanders in 2004 avenged his sibling’s unforeseen knockout loss the year before and stamped their surname on the division following Lennox Lewis’ retirement.

It’s been over a decade now and neither of them have lost. There are just five losses between their combined 114 fights. It’s that dominance that makes up for what their resumes lack.

Still, they’ve proven their worth against the best the division can offer—even if the talent doesn’t compare to the golden ages of yesteryear.

Vitali was well on his way to a decision win against another all-time great heavyweight in Lewis before being stopped on a cut in 2003. Lewis had been defeated before but never outboxed—not like that.

Alexander Povetkin was undefeated and undeniably the No. 2 heavyweight in the world following Vitali’s retirement but was no match for Wladimir’s ring generalship, succumbing to the first two knockdowns of his career in the second round—and three more through the remainder of the fight. The defending champion’s holding was at its worst, but his supremacy was never more apparent.

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