Presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko and Vitali Klitschko congratulate each other during a press conference in Kiev after exit polls were announced on May 25, 2014. Photo credit should read Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Former WBC heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko was elected the mayor of Kiev on Sunday.

"All change will begin in Kiev," Klitschko said, according to Agence France-Presse, after exit polls gave him 57 percent of the vote of Ukraine's capital city.

The 42-year-old veteran retired and vacated his title to announce his presidential candidacy in Ukraine in October but dropped out of that race in March to support eventual winner Petro Poroshenko.

The mayoral role in Kiev is a vital one to the troubled country. Klitschko now manages a considerable share of the state budget and oversees tax collection from Ukraine's biggest and most influential companies, according to AFP. Fighting against political and corporate corruption will be the biggest fight of Klitschko's life.

Upon announcing his retirement, Klitschko (45-2, 41 knockouts) was and named "Champion Emeritus" by the WBC, which determined that Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola would fight for their vacant belt.

Stiverne won the title with a sixth-round knockout of Arreola for the belt on May 10.