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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

"Well, Hide, You Got Your Comeuppance"

13 July, 1999 - 00:00

By Oleksandr HONCHARUK, Petro MARUSENKO, The
Day

When an elegantly dressed Vitaly Klychko, with the face and steady gait
of a champion, stepped down from the airliner arriving from Frankfurt,
it became clear a champion had come. Addressing a press conference at the
Kyiv City Administration, Vitaly said, "Ukraine is now known primarily
for its athletes. Maybe we will live to see a time when it will also be
known for its politicians and businesspeople."

"Vitaly, quite a lot has been written about Hide's boorish behavior.
What else happened before the bout?"

"In general, the British gave me a far from gentlemanly welcome. I was
accommodated in a 3 x 1.5 meter hotel room, with the bed taking up a third
of the floor area. With my stature, I had problems with sleeping well.
So I had to move to a more suitable hotel without prior notice. And in
the old hotel, as my friends, who stayed behind told me, the fire alarm
went off at night, and the occupants were kept outdoors for several hours."

"What did you say to Hide when you bent over him?"

"I am not a mean person. But I really got sick of all his bragging at
my expense. So I said to him, 'Well, Hide, you got your comeuppance'."

"You rarely come back without Volodymyr."

"My brother is getting ready for the intercontinental champion's title
bout with Joseph Chingangou from Zaire to be held on July 17. And on September
25 he will fight the great German Axel Schulz for the championship of Europe.
As you know, Schulz has repeatedly dodged the encounter, but it would have
been indecent to keep refusing."

"What are your next plans?"

"I will be defending my title in bouts with any top ten WBO boxers.
The No. 1 man is Mike Tyson. Of course, I would also like to challenge
for the title of undisputed world champion, no matter who I fight against,
Lewis Lennox or Evander Holyfield."

"Last year you presented Kyiv with the Intercontinental Championship
belt and promised to present the belt of the World Champion. You kept your
promises. What are you going to promise now?"

"Volodymyr and I have a plan to hold a world champion bout in Kyiv in
a stadium. We plan to carry this out next year."

 

Vitaly Klychko hopes Ukraine will be proud of not only its athletes
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