By Scoop Malinowski

You wouldn’t normally associate boxing with kite-surfing but there are two prominent heavyweight boxers who have taken a liking to cruising on the water with a board and sail.

1988 Olympic bronze medalist Andrew Golota discovered the sport while on vacation in Aruba. “We stayed at The Carousel. A lot of people who stay there try it. It looked interesting. I said, Sure, I’ll try it. Because I like to try new sports.”

Golota, who has boxed against the likes of former champs Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe twice, Chris Byrd and John Ruiz, admitted it took a week and a half to learn how to do it. But the lessons were worth it. “Oh my God, it’s something else. It’s unbelievable how much pleasure it is to ride on it,” says Golota, who has a pro record of 40-6-1 with 32 KO’s. “It’s beautiful, nice. It’s a thrill, a pleasure to ride.”

“I’ve gone many times, over ten times at least,” says Golota. “All in Aruba. I get better every time out there. The first week was terrible. But better and better every time. That’s the thing. It’s fun to do. I don’t like to just sit on the beach and drink juices. My wife likes to do that. I like to be on the move, you know.” His son Andrew, aged 10, is a future kite-surfer. “He tries but he can’t do it yet. He’s not strong enough. He tries to do the windsurfing.”

Golota is 40 now and still active as a boxer. He has won three fights in a row - against Jeremy Bates, Kevin McBride and Mike Mollo - and hopes to land another world title opportunity - his fifth. Golota is currently ranked #9 in the WBA and #6 by the WBC.

As a resident of Chicago, Illinois, also called “The Windy City,” Golota says he has tried to kite-surf on Lake Michigan, though without success. “I tried it here. The sail just falls down. It’s kind of a shame, my board and sail are covered with dust in the garage. The last time I kite-surfed was almost two years ago in Aruba. Shame.”

Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF/WBO Heavyweight champion - and widely considered the best in the world - is also an avid kite-surfer. “It is my passion, I love it.”

Born in Kazakhstan and raised in Ukraine, how did the 6-ft., 6-in., 240-pounder who mainly lives in Hamburg, Germany, discover kite-surfing? “I love the water and always had time for wake boarding and snowboarding. Kite-surfing is the best water sport in the world, because you can fly like a bird with out having engine. As simple as Mother nature and you!” Also he adds, “Vitali (his older brother by 4 1/2 years) had started. And I just wanted to be the same and better (smiles).”

Klitschko won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta at the age of 20 but boxing was not his only aspiration as a boy. “I got interested in boxing when I was 14, but never thought I would make it as an amateur or as a pro,” he says. “I really wanted to be a doctor. That is what I envisioned I would do with my life. I dreamed about everything as a boy - being a military man, a spaceman - but never a doctor.”

With a pro record of 51-3 with 44 KO’s, “Dr. Steelhammer” is in his prime now after two stoppage losses in 2003 and 2004 and currently is dominating the heavyweight competition. He just defended his title for the sixth time in July by knockout win over WBO #1 contender Tony Thompson.

Like in his boxing career, Klitschko has had a few tough times on the surf. “My first time was on Grand Canaria, the weather was rough,” he says. “As a beginner I had a leash connected to my board. I lost the control over my kite and end up ‘flying around.’ It was pretty scary. Since that experience I respect the rules of kite-surfing and no more have the connected leash to my board!”

As the world champion who has boxed in Germany, the U.S., London, England and Kiev, Ukraine, Klitschko could also be considered a kite-surfer of the world. “I’ve done it with my buddies in Egypt, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, California, etc., anywhere where water and wind is!”