Announcement

Forty-two year old Vitali Klitschko is a three-time world champion heavyweight boxer in the Ukraine. He says that he is going to run for president in the 2015 election. Wladimir Klitschko is his younger brother, and he’s also a champion boxer. Vitali made his announcement on Thursday to the Ukrainian parliament.

Boxing

In the world of boxing, he’s referred to as Dr. Ironfist. Standing at 6’7, his nickname came from his fierceness in the ring as well as his Ph.D. in sports science. His impressive career boxing record of 45-2 and phenomenal record of 41 KOs show that Vitali means business. He hasn’t had to defend his WBC belt since 2012, where he fought Manuel Charr. A hand injury kept him from a recent challenge from Bermane Stiverne. This was supposed to be a mandatory title defense. He will have to give up his boxing career if he does become the Ukrainian president. It seems Vitali isn’t the only sports star to turn their ambitions to politics. Andiry Shevcenko, a soccer star, turned his sights towards politics in 2012. Unfortunately he wasn’t very successful.

Politics

In 2010, Vitali helped to form a new party called Udar. It stands for the the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform. Apparently, in the previous fall, he was elected to parliament as the leader of this pro-Western party. He is campaigning against their current President Viktor Yanukovych. He is the first declared challenger. He claims that Viktor enforces strict obedience to his own authority at the expense of personal freedom of the citizens of the Ukraine. He is fighting for democracy in the Ukraine. He says he’s tired of everyone being bought off in the government and court systems. He claims that the Ukraine is one of, if not the most corrupt country in world. Their economy is not good either, with the current halt in economic growth. Strong motivation for this decision came from the nation’s extreme opposition to a decision for a former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to be put in jail for seven years for alleged abuse of office. Tymoshenko just happens to be a potential strong candidate against current President Yanukovych. Western powers are still fighting for him to be released.

Opposition

However, his status as a resident of Germany, because he spends so much time training there for boxing, may cause trouble for Vitali. He’s been forced to pay taxes abroad from the training that occurs in Germany. The opposition, the ruling Party of Regions, and Viktor Yanukovych supporters passed a bill that might prevent Klitschko from running as a resident of another country. The bill, which is an amendment to their tax code, states that in order to be a citizen, one must live in the Ukraine for 180 days of the year. Furthermore, a presidential candidate has to have been a citizen 10 years prior to the election. Vitali says that he’s not going to be shoved around. He firmly believes that nothing these people are trying to do will keep him from running for office.