It is safe to say that in the past three years, the world has learned that the Ukrainian people are not to be messed with – they are brave, strong and resilient. Therefore, it should not be a surprise to learn that this European nation has given the world more than its share of prodigious boxers over the last 25 years.
Many of the world champions Ukraine has produced have gained renown for their technical skills, which is partly explained by the success they enjoyed at the amateur level before transitioning into the professional boxing ranks.
Selecting top boxers from a country that has produced many elite fighters over the years is a challenging task. Below is one person’s suggested list in alphabetical order.
Serhiy Dzyndzyruk (37-2-1, 24 KOs)
He was nicknamed “Razor” and the 6-foot southpaw started his professional boxing career in January 1999, beginning a whirlwind journey in which his record hit 37-0, a run where he had never been knocked down even one time. He won three different light middleweight titles and retained his WBO title six times, a streak that cemented his immortality in boxing history as one of the best Ukrainian boxers of all time. A move to the middleweight class did not prove to be successful and from there injuries derailed his tenure in the ring.
Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs)
The younger of the revered Klitschko brothers, Wladimir first earned international recognition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where he won a gold medal. His first world title win came four years later when he defeated Chris Byrd to win the WBO Heavyweight Championship. It was the first of many “Dr. Steelhammer” would hold in his illustrious career. Klitschko enjoyed reigns with each major world heavyweight belt, but retained the IBF crown for an unbelievable 9 years and seven months. He won it in April 2006 by defeating Byrd again and held it until he lost to Tyson Fury in November 2015.
He retained his titles a staggering 18 times, adding the WBA, WBO and The Ring heavyweight titles to his arsenal. The 6-foot-6 giant was one of the most dominant powers in the boxing arena.
Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs)
The older of the brothers, he dominated the professional boxing scene for nine years between 2006 and 2015, winning several world heavyweight titles. From 1999 to 2013, he was the WBO, Ring Magazine and WBC champion. In total he successfully defended his titles a dozen times and beat 15 challengers in in world heavyweight title bouts. The 6-foot-7 behemoth won his first 24 matches via technical or early knockout. In total he won 41 of 45 fights by knockout.
Vitali retained his WBC title 10 times including 3 times after turning 40. Knee and back injuries caused “Dr. Ironfist” to step away from the sport between 2004 and 2008.
Some have labeled brother Wladimir the boxer, while Vitali has been described as the fighter.
Andreas Kotelnik (32-4-1, 13 KOs)
A former Olympic silver medalist at Sydney 2000, he began his career in the junior flyweight circuit, achieving success by winning the 1995 European Championship. He defeated Fabrice Colombel to claim the WBA Inter-Continental Light-Welterweight title in 2003. He gained more fame in 2008 when he won the WBA light welterweight title over Gavin Rees. His status in Ukrainian boxing history is enhanced by his regional and world boxing titles like WBO Asia Pacific and Inter-Continental Championships as a light welterweight. After four years away from the sport, he closed out his career with a farewell win over Alexander Benidze in October 2014.
Vasiliy Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs)
The two-time Olympic gold medal winner’s impressive amateur record is almost unbelievable. When he turned professional in 2013, he did so with stats of 396 wins against only one defeat. At 25 and with his proven amateur status, he secured a title shot in his second pro fight which he lost in a split decision.
In his second bout he won the WBO featherweight crown, then proceeded to move and capture the super featherweight title in his seventh professional fight. In his 12th outing, he won the WBA lightweight belt, to complete an almost unachievable feat of three world titles in three weight divisions in only a handful of fights. Despite a few recent setbacks late in his career, Lomachenko retired as one of the sport’s most highly respected and greatest pound-for-pound boxers.
Viktor Postol (32-5, 12 KOs)
He won the WBC Light Welterweight Championship by knocking out the highly regarded Lucas Matthysse in October 2015. Sadly, while mixing it up with the very best in his prime years, he lost the title and incurred his first-ever career defeat while attempting to defend it against Terence Crawford the next year. Since that loss he never recovered, winning only four of eight subsequent bouts including two title fight defeats.
Vyacheslav Senchenko (37-2, 25 KOs)
After making his July 2002 professional debut, it took him four fights to win the WBC, CIS and CISBB Welterweight Championship which he would successfully defend on two occasions. He added the IBF Inter-Continental Welterweight Championship in April 2004 and moved up to the IBF International Welterweight title with his 16th win. On April 10, 2009, Senchenko met fellow countryman Yuriy Nuzhnenko for the WBA World Welterweight title, the first time two Ukrainian boxers competed for a world title in their own country (Druzhba Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine). Both competitors entered the bout with records of 28-0 and Senchenko prevailed by unanimous decision.
Volodymyr Sydorenko (22-3-2, 7 KOs)
He first drew attention with back-to-back gold medals in the 1998 and 2000 European Championships in the flyweight division. He captured a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics and ended his amateur career with an incredible 290 victories. In the pros he won the WBA bantamweight belt in 2005 and successfully defended the title six times before losing it in May 2008. Although he would never regain a world title, the length of his sole reign is a major achievement in modern boxing.
Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs)
The reigning WBA, WBO and WBC unified heavyweight champion of the world took care of some tough opponents on his way to the top. Virtually unrivaled at both amateur and professional levels, Usyk has been described as a perfect mix of Lomachenko’s technical skill, combined with Wladimir Klitschko’s heavyweight IQ. After winning Olympic gold at London 2012, Usyk turned pro in late 2013 with an amateur record of 335-15. Since then, he has not been beaten in the ring. After he unified the cruiserweight division, it was a given that Usyk would test himself against the best among the heavyweights. What surprised the boxing world was the ease with which he made the jump. After only six bouts at heavyweight, he had unified a second weight class, defeating the division’s top challengers Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury along the way.
After his second win over Fury, who had once been touted as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT), now Usyk is prominent in any conversation about heavyweight GOATs.