Klitschko Page #3

looking around us.

Of course,

we didn't have any money.

We just wanted to

take in all the smells

and be able to touch things.

How can there be

That's madness.

There's only one

type of cheese. It's called cheese.

But they had 100

different types. I couldn't understand it.

Why did they

need so many shoes?

One pair is enough.

Okay, maybe two pairs,

one for sport.

When I got back,

I said to my father,

who was a Communist,

"Dad, they've been telling us

complete nonsense every day!

"It's such a lovely country.

The people are so friendly!"

I remember him saying,

"No, they just

showed you the good side.

"They'll use that as

propaganda. America is a dreadful place."

(WLADIMIR SPEAKING)

My parents like living

here in Florida in winter

because it's cold

in the Ukraine.

I understand what my

father went through.

Today he has

a different view of the world.

He comes to Florida

for his holidays.

He doesn't just

like the weather

but also the people

and the country itself.

Look at the father.

Here's a military man

who believes in discipline

and especially he's

a ranking official,

and he had to have been

a very disciplined man

in order to move

to that position,

and so that's why

Wladimir and Vitali are very proud.

You never saw them

like some of the younger guys

with their hair

falling down,

and the kids

with all the excessive earrings and things.

In fact, you could easily

see Wladimir and Vitali

in the military,

police force

or either in a top

corporate position,

that's just the way

they have been raised.

KIEV:

CSKA - ARMY SPORTS CLUB

(WLADIMIR ZOLOTAREW

SPEAKING RUSSIAN)

Vitali came from

the world of kickboxing.

He was athletic

but only weighed 90 kilograms.

I soon realised it would

be difficult for Vitali

in the world of real boxing.

WLADIMIR ZOLOTAREW -

BOXING COACH, ARMY SPORTS CLUB - KIEV

He couldn't even do a lap

without getting a stitch.

Vitali, don't go so fast.

Shut up!

(ZOLOTAREW SPEAKING)

Vitali laughs and says

I used to torture him.

In a way,

that's perfectly true.

But the result is pretty good.

(VITALI SPEAKING GERMAN)

Vadim, my trainer,

made me a lot stronger.

It was really tough.

I wanted to stop

because I couldn't go on.

I didn't want to

go to training,

I was sick of all the strain.

My body was saying, "No,"

and my brain was saying,

"You don't need this."

But I carried on anyway.

It was really tough.

(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)

At some point Vitali asked

if he could bring his

little brother along.

"Of course you can," I said.

From then on,

they always came together.

How can you compare

Vitali and Wladimir?

Vitali is made of stone

and Wladimir is made of clay.

When I taught

Vitali something new,

it would take a while

for him to perfect the move.

Carving stone takes time.

Wladimir was easier to mould,

but he would

weather more quickly.

They are two distinct fighters

and needed

different approaches.

(FALK NEBIGER SPEAKING GERMAN)

I first met them

in a disco in 1993.

An American place

in downtown Kiev.

FALK NEBIGER:

FRIEND FROM KIEV

The boys drove up in a Lada,

a car that was all the rage.

The name of the colour

was Wet Asphalt.

It was the coolest

car on the market.

They sat there in

their tracksuits and then came into the disco.

It was the place to be

in the Ukraine at that time.

We called them The Panthers

because they moved

through the disco just like panthers,

with all the girls saying,

"Hey, it's the Klitschkos!"

They were less well known then

but were very recognisable

as brothers - and as big guys

who moved like panthers.

I don't think they danced

but they played pool

and they threw

the right glances in the right directions.

A lot of people had

left Kiev at that time.

After the collapse

of the Soviet Union

many educated people,

businessmen and so on

saw no future for

themselves here.

So they left Kiev and

emigrated somewhere.

It was a difficult

time in the Ukraine.

(VITALI SPEAKING)

There were a lot of problems.

The economy had failed,

the Soviet system

had collapsed

with no replacement

at the time.

There were no laws,

no rules, nothing at all.

(WLADIMIR, SR

SPEAKING RUSSIAN)

Social problems were rife.

Many professional

athletes turned to crime.

Gangs of thugs

would mug people

in the street.

They were real gangsters.

(VITALI SPEAKING GERMAN)

Because I was a strong boy,

I often used to hear things like:

"Hey,

you've got what it takes.

"You don't need

to go to school. We can use you!"

Those are the kind of

offers I used to get.

But it's not all

about easy money.

You need to know

exactly what you want out of life.

(CLUCKING)

GERMANY:

FLENSBURG BOXING CLUB

The centre of

the ring was here.

The ring started

at this green line

and went to here.

The ring was

five metres square.

A team of between

in case someone drops out.

Every match is about winning

so you can't afford losers.

NORBERT ZEWUHN - FORMER MANAGER

FLENSBURG BOXING CLUB, GERMANY

We went to the World

Amateur Championship in Berlin

to see who was available.

BERLIN:

We really liked

Vitali Klitschko from the Ukraine

and asked him to fight for us

in the German Boxing League

starting in November.

He agreed but

before the season began,

he fought in Bangkok

at the Military Championships

and received a ban.

We found out three weeks

before the season opened.

We'd already paid

all the expenses

and Vitali had been to

visit us in Flensburg.

His name was in our programmes,

but he wasn't able to come.

We were in a very tight spot.

We put a telephone call

through to the Ukraine.

They told us something

that we could hardly believe.

They said, "No need to panic.

"We've got a guy

who looks like him and he's just as good."

We had no alternative

so we went to the airport

and someone came out

who looked just

like Vitali Klitschko,

the one we'd

actually signed up.

How could there be two people

who look so alike?

We didn't know

he had a brother.

They didn't say

they'd be sending his brother,

just that they had someone

who looked like him.

(COMMENTATOR SPEAKING)

A new dimension

to league boxing in Flensburg!

The undisputed star

is from the Ukraine,

the 19-year-old

Wladimir Klitschko.

The match was

over within a minute.

Wladimir Klitschko

has lost only 10 of his 121 matches to date.

An Olympic hope

for the Ukraine!

We kept an eye on

the Olympic Games

because we'd already

signed him up for another season.

He won the gold medal,

which was fantastic.

We were proud to have

a heavyweight Olympic champion

on the Flensburg team.

We were already thinking

about building a new hall

because instead

of 1 ,200 spectators

we were now

expecting more like 4,000.

Then the news came

that both the Klitschko brothers

were turning professional.

So that was the end of that.

When Wladimir won

the gold medal at the Olympics

the man next to me said,

"Congratulations!

"Here, take my mobile.

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