NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupƍ
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikƍura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupƍ & TĆ«rangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • ManawatĆ« - Whanganui
    • All ManawatĆ« - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • ManawatĆ«
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikƍura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Boxing

Boxing: Hayden Panettiere's role in Wladimir Klitschko's road to glory

Daily Mail
28 Apr, 2017 08:54 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Wladimir Klitschko and Hayden Panettiere attend the 2013 Sports Emmy Awards in New York. Photo / Getty Images.

Wladimir Klitschko and Hayden Panettiere attend the 2013 Sports Emmy Awards in New York. Photo / Getty Images.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Behind every great man there's a great woman, the saying goes.

And behind Wladimir Klitschko, heading into Saturday night's Wembley showdown with Anthony Joshua, is Hollywood actress Hayden Panettiere.

The pair have been together since 2009, have been engaged for the last three years and have a young daughter, with Panettiere being by her man's side during some of his biggest victories and also the crushing defeat suffered at the hands of Tyson Fury in 2015.

The couple, like Klitschko's career, have not been without their troubles, and after meeting at a book launch for a mutual friend they separated for two years during the early days of their relationship, as they struggled with the distance between them and their hectic schedules.

Soon after rekindling their romance in 2013 they were engaged and, a year later, Panettiere gave birth to their daughter, Kaya. There does not appear to be any immediate plan to wed, though.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Klitschko stands nearly a foot-and-half taller than his fiancee and, at 41, is 14 years her senior, with those aesthetic differences making them an eye-catching pair when they attend awards shows, sporting events and fashion events.

She has been ringside for a number of his fights, too, including his victory over Samuel Peter and the defeat by Fury which saw the Ukrainian head into the longest spell away from the ring of his career.

Panettiere was spotted without her engagement ring last summer, sparking rumours they had separated, but the actress was quick to put things straight.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Alongside a black and white photo of her with Wladimir and their daughter, she wrote: "Missing rings don't mean the end of relationships. Blessed to be with my beautiful family".

Missing rings don't mean the end of relationships. Blessed to be with my beautiful family 🙏 pic.twitter.com/oCiTK0ziJf

— Hayden Panettiere (@haydenpanettier) July 7, 2016

She is a regular on social media, occasionally featuring her partner and daughter in photos, including at the launch of the fight with Joshua in Times Square, New York City.

Alongside that image, she wrote: "I have his back, literally."

I have his back.....literally 😂@Klitschko pic.twitter.com/4wo7J7ygOj

— Hayden Panettiere (@haydenpanettier) February 9, 2017

At 27, the New Yorker is a star of television and the big screen, a model and a Grammy-nominated singer, having seemingly been born into the entertainment industry as the daughter of a soap opera actress.

Discover more

Boxing

Why the UK is calling for Joseph Parker

27 Apr 03:55 AM
Boxing

Joshua or Klitschko? Parker picks

28 Apr 04:02 AM
Boxing

Britain's first sporting billionare?

28 Apr 03:02 AM
Boxing

Lewis: Parker suffers in credibility

28 Apr 10:59 PM

Indeed, she appeared on screen for the first time at the age of 11 months as she fronted a commercial for a toy train, before appearing in two different soap operas before her 10th birthday.

From there she had recurring roles in Ally McBeal, Malcolm in the Middle and Law & Order, but it was hit NBC show Heroes in which she really made her name as she played Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with regenerative healing powers.

On the big screen she has voiced characters in A Bug's Life and Scooby-Doo and appeared in Scream 4 in 2011, while she has also played her part in a number of video games.

More recently she has stared in musical drama series Nashville, releasing a number of tracks as a result, and played the title role in The Amanda Knox Story.

But this weekend all eyes will be on her partner, as he bids to make a successful return following his loss to Fury and prove experience is greater than youth by beating Joshua.

After defeat by Fury, Panettiere insisted her partner would always be a champion in her eyes, with the Ukrainian hoping to be able to be so in the eyes of the boxing world once again this weekend.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Boxing

Boxing

Mexican boxer arrested, faces deportation days after loss to Jake Paul

03 Jul 07:34 PM
Premium
New Zealand

Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

29 Jun 12:00 AM
Boxing

Emma Nesbitt, 20, set to fight 47-year-old Aussie boxer in Auckland

25 Jun 10:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Boxing

Mexican boxer arrested, faces deportation days after loss to Jake Paul

Mexican boxer arrested, faces deportation days after loss to Jake Paul

03 Jul 07:34 PM

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was arrested by US immigration officers in Los Angeles.

Premium
Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

Kiwi athletes urged to watch what they wear - or risk falling foul of drug testers

29 Jun 12:00 AM
Emma Nesbitt, 20, set to fight 47-year-old Aussie boxer in Auckland

Emma Nesbitt, 20, set to fight 47-year-old Aussie boxer in Auckland

25 Jun 10:00 PM
'No truth in it': Gallen hits back at SBW claims

'No truth in it': Gallen hits back at SBW claims

19 Jun 04:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP