Vitali Klitschko loving L.A., ready for Chris Arreola

Greg Beacham, AP Sports Writer

Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 | 2 p.m.

On Vitali Klitschko’s days away from training for his next heavyweight title fight, he takes his wife and three children to the Beverly Center mall or down to the Malibu coast. He also ends up fairly often at Disneyland, even though he’s too big to ride the Matterhorn.

Whether he’s toiling away in a cramped Hollywood gym or hanging with Mickey and Minnie, Klitschko clearly enjoys every opportunity afforded by his particular American dream. He still remembers his first trip to California in 1988, when he had the reaction shared by millions over the past century.

“Wow, this is a great city,” Klitschko recalls thinking. “There are very friendly people, and I like the ocean very much. I decided if I move to the U.S., I would like to live in L.A. It’s the best.”

Klitschko now makes his home in one of Los Angeles’ ritziest neighborhoods, but he also lives in Hamburg, Germany, and his native Ukraine. With sport, politics and family all pulling at him, the 38-year-old Klitschko has been grateful to settle in Los Angeles long enough to focus on the next step in a boxing career that seems revitalized just a few short months after it seemed over.

“It’s very important to have a dream,” Klitschko said. “Without dreams, life is boring. When pro boxing was forbidden in the Soviet Union, I still saw Mike Tyson win the world championship, and that was great for me. My brother and I, we had a dream together. We made that dream come true. Right now, we have control of the heavyweight division. I think about it every day.”

Klitschko (37-2, 36 KOs) is favored to defend his WBC title against Chris Arreola on Saturday night at Staples Center. After ending nearly four injury-plagued years away from boxing with impressive wins over Samuel Peter and Juan Carlos Gomez in the past year, Klitschko is determined to make up for the time he lost.

“I never gained weight while I was injured, because I care about what food I eat,” Klitschko said. “Sport style is my lifestyle. My parents gave us a very good education on that.”

Vitali already was the older, more serious brother to playful Wladimir, the WBO and IBF champion, but Vitali’s time away from the sport has only hardened his resolve for the workouts he undertakes with military precision each day. He was embarrassed each time a potential comeback had to be scrapped because of injuries, but they never kept him away from the gym for more than six months.

“The injuries really helped him, because he’s very rested and healthier now,” said Fritz Sdunek, Klitschko’s longtime trainer. “He never stopped training because of them. I never thought he would stop boxing. He is very determined.”

Sdunek also enjoys working in Los Angeles, saying the time difference confines Klitschko’s political and business work to hours that don’t conflict with training.

“I always say, ‘This is the time for politics, and this is the time for boxing,”’ Sdunek said. “We’ve trained in Kitzbuehel, (Austria). It’s also good, but this is the best.”

While in Los Angeles, Klitschko spends much of his time away from the ring keeping his various worlds turning. The hours right after he awakes and shortly before he sleeps are often on the phone with supporters and colleagues in Kiev, Ukraine, where he twice ran for mayor and still backs an eponymous political party. He also keeps up with business interests in Germany, and his family still gets plenty of attention.

“I am a resident of California,” Klitschko said in the declaratory way of a person who speaks multiple languages with ease. “At the same time, I am a resident of Germany. At the same time, I am a resident of Ukraine. At the same time, I am a sportsman of the world. It is not important to the fight which colors you (support), which country you are a resident in.”

When David Haye infuriated the Klitschkos by backing out of deals to meet both fighters in favor of a date with WBA champion Nikolai Valuev, Klitschko seized the chance for a U.S. fight against Arreola, an undefeated Southern California native who’s likely the top American heavyweight at the moment.

Accepting a stateside fight meant a few financial sacrifices, according to Tom Loeffler, the managing director of the Klitschko brothers’ K-2 Promotions. Vitali is making about 75 percent of his typical haul from a fight in Germany, where the brothers’ promoters have made them impressively popular with the boxing-savvy nation—although the likes of Denzel Washington rarely stop by training camp in Hamburg.

In fact, that might be the only aspect of L.A. celebrity life that Klitschko hasn’t entertained.

“Hollywood? No,” Klitschko said with a smile. “My brother, maybe.”

But Klitschko realizes the value of maintaining a presence with the American public and media, and the fight gave him the chance to capitalize. Klitschko has trained for six fights in Los Angeles, and his three appearances at Staples Center will be more than any main-event fighter—including Southern California natives Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Shane Mosley.

“I feel at home, and hopefully the fans will support me,” Klitschko said. “You can just tell sport has the power to change the world. I hope little boys from every country will hope to someday make the world better through sport.”