page_title: Vitali Klitschko
section_title: Klitschko vs. Sosnowski, Briggs, Solís
hierarchical_section_title: Vitali Klitschko / Professional boxing career (1996–2013) / Klitschko vs. Sosnowski, Briggs, Solís
caption_attribution_description: English: Vitali Klitschko fights in a footballstadium against Albert Sosnowski. Deutsch: Vitali Klitschko kämpft in einem Fußballstadion gegen Albert Sosnowski.
context_page_description: Vitaly Volodymyrovych Klitschko is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He currently serves as Mayor of Kiev and head of the Kiev City State Administration, having held both offices since June 2014. Klitschko is a former leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. He became actively involved in Ukrainian politics in 2005 and combined this with his professional boxing career until his retirement from the sport in 2013.
  As a boxer, Klitschko is a three-time world heavyweight champion, the second-longest-reigning WBC heavyweight champion of all time and has the fifth-longest combined world championship reign in history at 2,735 days. He held the WBO title from 1999 to 2000; the Ring magazine title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC title twice between 2008 and 2013. In 2011, Vitali and his brother Wladimir entered the Guinness World Records book as the pair of brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins.
  Standing at 2.01 metres and usually coming into fights around 250 pounds, Klitschko was renowned for having exceptional ring dominance.
context_section_description: On 29 May 2010, Vitali Klitschko defeated Polish heavyweight contender Albert Sosnowski by KO at 2:30 in round 10 of 12. Sosnowski was knocked down by a right hand in the 10th round, prompting referee Jay Nady to immediately wave off the fight. The fight took place at Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
  Vitali Klitschko weighed in at 112 kg (247 lb), while Sosnowski weighed in at 110 kg (240 lb).
  This voluntary defense was Vitali's fourth defense of the WBC Heavyweight title. Sosnowski was the No. 11 ranked heavyweight according to the WBC prior to this bout.
  On 17 August 2010, it was announced that Klitschko would defend his WBC title against Shannon Briggs on 16 October of that year. Klitschko completely dismantled his challenger with superior hand speed. Briggs struggled to land any meaningful punches, as Klitschko won every round decisively. After a few rounds, Briggs was receiving a vicious and sustained beating which caused him serious facial injuries. Considering the beating he was receiving, there was some suggestion that the referee should have stopped the bout during the last few rounds. Klitschko had retained his belt with official scores of 120–107, 120–107, and 120–105.
  During the post-fight interview, the American boxer Briggs said: "I've fought George Foreman, I've fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali's the best." While Klitschko did not knock down Briggs, the latter collapsed after the fight and was hospitalized with facial fractures and a torn biceps.
  Klitschko's next fight was against mandatory challenger Odlanier Solís. The bout was tentatively scheduled for March 2011. On 11 January, it was officially confirmed that the fight between Klitschko and Solís was going to take place in Cologne, Germany on 19 March 2011. The fight lasted less than one whole round, as a right hand to Solís's temple wobbled Solís, who then twisted his knee. Klitschko won by KO. Klitschko reportedly earned $15 million for the bout.
caption: Klitschko vs Sosnowski, 29 May 2010
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