Klitschko Hates Poverty, Loves Borat
By Robert Ecksel November 22nd, 2006Wladimir Klitschko goes to Namibia and the movies
In today’s The Moscow Times, a reprint from Reuters hails the IBF heavyweight champion of the world Wladimir Klitschko and gives him all due respect, not only for his accomplishments in the ring, but for his accomplishments outside the ring. His work with UNESCO continues to grow, and Klitschko’s dualism, where he seems comfortable in “some of the most glamorous and also some of the most destitute spots on the planet,� insures that Klitschko the man and Klitschko the fighter is someone to watch.
“Thanks to sports I’ve gotten to know more about life, had the opportunity to meet famous people and learn from them, and to work with the United Nations organization UNESCO, which helps me understand the world more clearly,” Klitschko said.
Klitschko and his older brother Vitali have led what are called “storybook lives.� Sons of a Ukrainian air force general who is now military attaché to the embassy in Germany, they had a profound sense of excellence drilled into them at an early age. But their superiority, in size, athleticism, intelligence, looks, languages, you name it, was augmented by a heightened social conscience, an awareness that not everyone on the planet was as fortunate as the brothers Klitschko.
In that spirit, Wladimir Klitschko just raised “a quarter million dollars to help build schools in an impoverished Namibian village visited in August by the Klitschko brothers on a UNESCO mission� from the proceeds of his recent fight with Calvin Brock at Madison Square Garden. The heavyweight champion of the world doesn’t have to do that, he can just party, but as Klitschko said, “The people there are dying… When you go to the third-world countries you see children die right in front of your eyes. Without education, those children have no chance to survive. This is the chance to give them some future.�
On a lighter note, Wladimir Klitschko, who was born in Kazakhstan, moved to Prague and grew up in Ukraine, confessed to having a particular affinity for the faux Kazakh comedic documentary filmmaker superstar du jour “Borat� (nee Sasha Baron Cohen).
“I love ‘Borat,’� Klitschko said about hit movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,� a film that follows the antics of a British/Jewish comedian/prankster pretending to be a Kazakh TV reporter making a documentary about life in the USA.
“I think that is the funniest dude I have ever seen. He’s just something different than we have seen before. I think it might be great for Kazakhstan because people will go to the country and see it. You remember that crocodile hunter from Australia?â€? Klitschko asked. “Everybody thought that when he comes to New York in the movie all Australians are as crazy as Crocodile Dundee. People went to Australia to see that country and it was good for the economy.â€?
The Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is in the UK and has seen “Borat,� told NDTV that the film was shot in R
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:48 am
knowing what klitschko is doing with his time and money has made he a fan of his now and an admirer. ive never thought much of them as fighters
frankly,my wife was a top female fighter in the nineties and had the opportunity to trained at the universum gym in hamburg with germanys female champ regina halmich and she observed the klitschko boys training and said they were like premadonnas, not listening to the trainer,who happened to be don turner who was brought over to help the guys fror a few days.he had some american guys with him also for the lighter weight fighters there. she said that they were not friendly at all and had nothing good to say about them . but i see that as all of us do,they have grown, and into very good people at that. im glad that vladimir is a giving person,it says alot about who he is inside and thats what really counts in life. i will be rooting for you vlad for now on ,keep up the good work and GOD BLESS you and yours !
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:55 am
I like Klitshko. No heavyweight champion I remember did any of this. It’s good to have a champion who is a class act as well as a good fighter. I was getting tired of the big taking “it’s my time to shine…types or the “god has blessed me to trash you” types or the “name in police blotter” types or ear biting, women terrorizing types.
Wlad seems geniunely into this..I say thats great. The deeds are more important than the words.
November 23rd, 2006 at 5:38 pm
Vincent, I agree. It’s about time another nice guy reached the big time.
Also, nice to see this guy has a sense of humour!
November 23rd, 2006 at 6:11 pm
uganda sent 100.000$ to catarina, imagine,a poor country like uganda?,why,to help our brother’s and sister’s,we was
very sorry about what happend to them.
but they never ever think about africa.
ameizing!.
wladimir, i thank you again for that.
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:11 pm
Good man! Karmic values…..never leave home without them!
November 24th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
pdd,missy,tyson,denzel,lennox,shaquil,all them black stars,no one has done what the boxer from the ukrein has done.let hem kick your ass in the ring.wlad, attack!! hahaaa!
hey just kiding,but african american are selfish,why?good example from klitscko,help the poor kids man.
November 26th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I’m telling you, Wladamir is THE heavyweight we’ve been waiting for. The world just doesn’t know it yet. Everyone looks at the heavyweight title picture today and sighs in distress. But Klitschko, who is at the top of that list, has fantastic skills. Sure, he’s been knocked down a few times, but he always gets up. He’s the genuine article. I’m telling you. Take it to the bank.