Murnaghan 23.02.13 Interview with Frank Warren, boxing promoter, about Vitali Klitschko

ANY QUOTES USED MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO MURNAGHAN, SKY NEWS

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now on to a look at one of the dimensions of what’s going on in Ukraine, one of the most high profile figures in the protest has been the former boxer, Vitali Klitschko. He’s the leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform but before that of course he was a world champion, so what do we know about him? The boxing promoter, Frank Warren, has known Vitali Klitschko since he turned professional and three of his own boxers have fought against him and Frank Warren joins me now from Hertfordshire. A very good morning to you, Frank, just tell me how well do you know him?

FRANK WARREN: Good morning, Dermot. Well I don't know him extremely well, I know him through the boxing and as you mentioned, three of my guys have challenged him for world titles. In fact I promoted in the late 90s his fight when he actually won the world title against Herbie Hide and that set him on to the road to glory as far as boxing was concerned. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and a very, very bright guy. When he turned professional, he was an Olympic gold medallist and he then learnt to speak English, he learnt to speak German – that’s where he’s based, in Germany, for quite a while and he is also a doctor, he got a doctorate from a university in sports science, so he is a very intelligent and bright guy and very determined character.

DM: Does that make him quite unusual in the world of boxing, I guess there’s not too many other former boxers who may become president of their country?

FRANK WARREN: They only other one at the moment is Manny Pacquiao who is a senator in the Philippines and apparently when he packs in boxing, which should be some time this year, is looking to stand as Vice-President so the boxers are taking over the world at the moment it seems.

DM: It has also stood Vitali Klitschko in good stead, hasn’t it, he obviously earned a considerable amount of money, but how he did it. Boxers earn their money through their hands and that’s what’s been said, that’s one of the slogans in Ukraine, he earned his money in his hands so he doesn’t need to steal it from the people.

FRANK WARREN: That’s correct, he is quite a wealthy guy, he’s been a champion for many, many years. His fights in Germany are really well attended, it’s up to 50,000 people on a live gate will pay to watch him fight plus obviously the TV revenue from around the world. He is a very intelligent person, he’s quite – in what he does, certainly as far as boxing is concerned, he’s very thoughtful in his approach, very thorough in his preparation and I’m sure he does that in his own life. I think he stood once or maybe twice as Mayor for Kiev in the past which he unfortunately didn’t manage to become the Mayor.

DM: Of course he’s got a brother, Vladimir, they were the Klitschko brothers, does he have similar ambitions?

FRANK WARREN: I don't know about that, Vladimir I don't think is as politically ambitious as Vitali. He is also the current, he holds world titles in three different divisions at the moment so he is the current champion and he is carrying the family name on. As far as boxing is concerned, the two guys because they are brothers never ever fought each other and that’s why over the years the world’s public or people that like boxing, there was never a defining champion like you had in other areas such as an Ali or a Joe Louis or a Tyson, Lennox Lewis, it was always the Klitschko Brothers so it was a bit confusing for the fans.

DM: Yes, you’re right. Did you ever wish you managed him, Vitali Klitschko, as he fought your fighters?

FRANK WARREN: Yes, he beat three of my fighters, three fights and three wins he got and one of them here, one of them in Germany and the other one in the States and he won each time. He was a tremendous fighter but he was a tremendous amateur athlete, as I say he won the gold medal in the Olympic Games so whatever he’s done he’s been very successful in his chosen profession and he is obviously politically motived and driven at the moment and I’m sure that he will make a success of what he does in the unfortunate circumstances in Ukraine at the moment.

DM: And it does give him that credibility doesn’t it? Obviously as a heavyweight boxing champion you’ve got that sense of power but it gives you the credibility politically doesn’t it? I’ve noticed this, you must have noticed it more, with quite a lot of big boxers, they are obviously extremely tough but they talk very softly, they are very reasonable and they’re not scary.

FRANK WARREN: That’s quite true and also he is very well known, not just in the Ukraine, he’s known around the world. He is obviously a hero in Ukraine as far as sport is concerned because he’s been at the pinnacle of his sport since he was a very, very young man and normally the world heavyweight champion is one of the most recognised sportsmen on the planet, always has been the case. They always say biggest is best and he carried that mantle for a long, long time. He’s got a lot of dignity about him, he’s a very dignified person and I thought he brought a lot of credibility to boxing. He showed that boxers are not just the archetypal view of them that they are not the brightest people in the world, a lot of them are very, very bright and certainly Vitali is one of those.

DM: He is certainly proving it and who knows where he might go. If Lennox Lewis is watching perhaps we’ll see him in Downing Street! Frank Warren, thank you very much indeed.

FRANK WARREN: Yes, he might become President of Canada.

DM: There is that but let’s not go there! Frank Warren, thank you very much indeed, always good to talk to you. Frank Warren there about Vitali Klitschko.