Alexander Vladimirovich "Sasha" Povetkin (russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Пове́ткин; born 2 September 1979) is a Russian former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the
WBA (Regular)
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
title from 2011 to 2013, the
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
interim
An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities.
Interim may also refer to:
Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept)
*Provis ...
heavyweight title from 2020 to 2021, and challenged twice for the
unified heavyweight championship.
As an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, Povetkin won gold medals in the
super-heavyweight
Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding.
Boxing
In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...
division at the
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and
2004 European Championships,
2003 World Championships, and
2004 Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. After turning professional in 2005, he defeated
Ruslan Chagaev
Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...
to claim the vacant WBA (Regular) title in 2011. He challenged unified champion
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
for the WBA (Super),
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
,
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
,
IBO,
''The Ring'', and
lineal titles in 2013, suffering his first professional career loss by unanimous decision. Povetkin fought unified champion
Anthony Joshua
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles in 2018, and suffered a
seventh-round technical knockout loss.
He was rated in the top ten annual heavyweights by BoxRec from 2006 to 2020, and rated in the top five annual heavyweights from 2007 to 2020, except for 2019.
He is a one-time winner of the WBC KO of the Year (2020) and
Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium channe ...
Knockout of the Year (2020).
Amateur career
After a successful amateur
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
career that included winning World Junior championship in 1997, World title in 1999 and a European professional kickboxing title in 2000, Povetkin won his first major boxing tournament at the Russian Championships in 2000 at the age of 21. This would be the beginning of several major amateur tournaments Povetkin would go on to win including; the Good Will Games in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 2001; the 34th European Championship in 2002; the XII World Championship in 2003 held in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
; and the 35th European Championship in 2004. His amateur success would culminate in winning the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
at super-heavyweight (>91 kg)
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, in a walkover match over
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
Mohamed Aly.
After taking Olympic Gold, he concluded his amateur career with a record of 125–7, with all losses avenged.
Professional career
2005-2007: Early career
Povetkin's early career was without renown. He first pulled notice when, after compiling a perfect record of 12–0, he defeated veteran
Larry Donald
Larry Ali Donald (born January 6, 1967) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur boxing, amateur he won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships, 1991 World Championships and ...
on 30 June 2007 by unanimous decision in Moscow in his 13th professional fight.
2007–2011: IBF heavyweight title tournament
The win over Donald was considered solid, and Povetkin continued his emergence as a promising heavyweight boxing contender.
On 27 October 2007 Povetkin met
Chris Byrd
Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over th ...
, who had lost his title to Klitschko the year before. Povetkin won by way of an 11th-round TKO victory. Byrd put up more resistance than Donald, but ultimately was overwhelmed, and his corner threw in the towel.
Less than a week later,
Eddie Chambers
Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 200 ...
won a split decision victory over former title challenger
Calvin Brock
Calvin Vance Brock (born January 22, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.9 heavyweight by BoxRec at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankello. In ...
. This advanced Povetkin and Chambers to the final round of the tournament. On 26 January 2008, after initial problems Povetkin defeated Chambers by unanimous decision to become the
mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...
for Klitschko. On 19 July 2008, Povetkin knocked out
Taurus Sykes
Taurus Jabbar Sykes, (born May 20, 1975) is a professional boxer. He has been fighting as a heavyweight, and has fought against several contenders, and currently holds a record of 25-6-1. He turned pro in 1998.
Overview
Sykes, who hails from B ...
in the fourth round.
2011–2013: WBA (Regular) heavyweight champion
Povetkin vs. Chagaev
After
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
unified his WBO and IBF titles with
David Haye
David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amate ...
's WBA title, Klitschko was upgraded to "Super Champion" by the WBA, thus making the "Regular Champion" title vacant. On 6 July 2011 negotiations for Povetkin to fight former WBA champion
Ruslan Chagaev
Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...
(27-1-1, 17 KOs) for the vacant title began between Sauerland, who promote Povetkin, and Chagaev's promoter Universum. Two days later, Povetkin's trainer confirmed the fight would take place on 27 August. At the time of the bout, Povetkin was ranked No.3 heavyweight contender by
''The Ring'', while Chagaev was ranked No.4 contender by the same publication. There were concerns about Chagaev's health state, due to him being diagnosed with
hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection.
Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. Fo ...
and the possibility of him infecting Povetkin. Chagaev, however, insisted that the medical examination had confirmed that his opponents (Povetkin included) weren't in danger of being infected. Most observers expected the fight to be close, giving Povetkin the edge in youth and athletic ability, while also giving Chagaev an advantage in terms of experience. Both fighters were given an even chance to win.
Former
WBA world champion
Nikolai Valuev
Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev (, rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the WBA heav ...
predicted Povetkin to win by decision or knockout in the championship rounds.
The card was televised by
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
.
With Teddy Atlas in his corner, Povetkin bested Chagaev by unanimous decision to capture the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title. Both fighters were active from the opening bell, with Povetkin appearing to have the upper hand in the first half of the fight, frequently closing the distance and working Chagaev's body, while blocking most Chagaev's shots with arms and gloves. Povetkin staggered Chagaev with an uppercut in the third round. Chagaev regained composure in the middle rounds, hurting tired Povetkin several times with clubbing left hooks. Povetkin withstood Chagaev's attacks and re-established his pressure going into the championship rounds, while Chagaev appeared to be saving energy for the last rounds. The twelfth round saw both fighters trading shots.
The bout went full twelve rounds, with Povetkin being declared the winner by unanimous decision. The scores were 116–112 (twice) and 117–113, all in favor of Povetkin. According to
CompuBox
CompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches around the world.
Background
The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in ...
, Povetkin landed 152 punches out of 533 thrown (28.5%) with 112 landed power shots (39.6%), while Chagaev landed 72 punches out of 416 thrown (17.1%) with 62 power punches (35.2%). Povetkin landed more shots in every round and also landed more power punches in all but the first two rounds (2nd round being even).
Following the fight, 48 year old former world champion
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
entered the ring to congratulate Povetkin. Holyfield also attended the post-fight press conference and made the intention of challenging Povetkin for the WBA's secondary title. Povetkin announced his first defence would be in December 2011, possibly in
Zurich, Switzerland.
Povetkin vs. Boswell
On 16 October 2011, a fight between Povetkin and 42 year old American heavyweight contender
Cedric Boswell
Cedric Boswell (born July 21, 1969) is an American professional boxer. He was touted as a future heavyweight contender early in his pro career, which began in 1994.
As an amateur, he defeated Shannon Briggs on points at the National Golden Glo ...
(35-1, 26 KOs) was close to being confirmed for 3 December at the
Hartwall Arena
Helsinki Halli (formerly Hartwall Arena) is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice hockey games is 13,34 ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. Boswell was on a 14-fight win streak since his sole defeat to former four-time world title challenger
Jameel McCline
Jameel McCline (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged for the world heavyweight title on an unprecedented four occasions, losing all four attempts to Wladimir Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Nikolai Valuev and Samuel ...
. The fight was originally offered to former WBC champion
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
, who asked for more money than Sauerland Event's could offer. Povetkin's team then spoke to the WBA about possible opponents. Most of the ranked fighters were not willing to travel to fight Povetkin, where as some contenders were not available. French heavyweight
Jean Marc Mormeck turned down the opportunity to fight Povetkin because he was being lined up to challenge then-unified world champion Wladimir Klitschko. On 21 October, Boswell confirmed that he had signed the deal and a day later, a heavyweight double-header was announced for 3 December, with the other fight being
Robert Helenius
Robert Gabriel Helenius (born 2 January 1984) is a Finnish professional boxer. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title twice between 2011 and 2016. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at th ...
vs.
Derek Chisora
Derek Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Common ...
. Povetkin already started his training with
Kostya Tszyu
Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional bo ...
and cruiserweight contender
Denis Lebedev
Denis Aleksandrovich Lebedev (russian: Денис Александрович Лебедев; born 14 August 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer who competed between 2001 and 2019. He is a former unified world cruiserweight champion, ...
and in mid-October, Teddy Atlas joined the training camp. Povetkin won the fight by 8th-round KO. At the time of the stoppage, Povetkin was ahead 70–63, 69–64, and 70–63 on the scorecards. Povetkin came alive in the fight at the midway point, rocking Boswell a few times with some hard punches. In the 8th round, Povetkin connected with a combination that dropped Boswell and eventually counted out. Boswell managed to get to his feet after the count had finished, only to fall back down.
Povetkin vs. Huck
In December 2011, a deal was reached for Povetkin to make his second defence against then
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
cruiserweight champion
Marco Huck
Muamer Hukić (born 11 November 1984), best known as Marco Huck, is a German professional boxer.. Retrieved 2015-12-01. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2015, and is the joint-longest reigning cruiserweight world champion of al ...
(34-1, 25KOs) on 25 February 2012 at
Porsche Arena
Porsche-Arena is a multi-purpose arena, located in Stuttgart, Germany. The seating capacity of the arena varies, from 5,100 to 8,000 people and it was opened in 2006, after 14 months of construction. The arena is part of a sport complex located in ...
in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. Huck made the challenge in the post fight press conference of Povetkin's win over Boswell. It was noted that Huck would not vacate his WBO title, until after the fight, where he would assess the situation. Huck stated if he was to win the title, he would likely remain at heavyweight to challenge one of the
Klitschko brothers
Vitali Klitschko (born 19 July 1971) and Wladimir Klitschko (born 25 March 1976), known as the Klitschko Brothers, are Ukrainian former professional boxers. During their peak years between 2004 and 2015, they were considered the dominant world h ...
, but would be given 10 days by the WBO to decide. Huck reached out to
David Haye
David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amate ...
and
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
to help with sparring. In January 2012, the promoters of Huck, Povetkin and Rahman attended a meeting where they discussed the winner of Povetkin vs. Huck would defend the WBA title against Rahman next. During this time, trainer Teddy Atlas was in contract for Povetkin to come train in the USA but Povetkin refused, then Teddy Atlas announced he had parted ways with Povetkin. Russian trainer Alexander Zimin stepped in on short notice. For his debut at heavyweight, Huck weighed 209.4 pounds and Povetkin weighed 229.2 pounds.
Povetkin won the fight via majority decision. The fight proved to be a tough test for Povetkin. One judge scored the fight a 114–114 draw, whilst the remaining two judges scoring the fight 116–113, and 116–112 in favour of Povetkin. All three ringside announcers from
EPIX
Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's pr ...
scored the fight in favour of Huck. Chisora and
Dimitrenko, who were sat ringside, scored the fight a draw.
Arthur Abraham
Avetik Abrahamyan ( hy, Ավետիք Աբրահամյան; born 20 February 1980), best known as Arthur Abraham, is an Armenian-German former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight c ...
and
Tomasz Adamek
Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek (; born 1 December 1976) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, including the World Boxing Council, WBC light heavyweig ...
scored the fight clearly for Huck. The opening round started off slow however Povetkin started taking over the fight landing body shots and using his straight rights. In round 4, Huck began to let his hands go and found his range, even rocking Povetkin. Huck controlled the championship rounds as Povetkin began to show signs of fatigue. Huck came close to dropping Povetkin in the final round. After the fight, Povetkin admitted, "I underestimated him. Perhaps I didn't take this fight seriously enough." Huck said, "A lot of people who saw this fight see me as the winner." It was reported that Huck had injured his right between rounds 6 and 7. The verdict was met with boos around the arena.
Povetkin vs. Rahman, Wawrzyk
Despite rematch called for Povetkin vs. Huck, Team Sauerland firmly stated that as previously negotiated, a fight with former WBC world champion
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
(50-7-2, 41 KOs) would be next. It was originally for 14 July 2012 at
Upton Park in
West Ham, London, with
David Haye vs. Derek Chisora
David Haye vs Derek Chisora, billed as ''Licensed to Thrill'', was a professional boxing match contested between former heavyweight champion, David Haye, and former world title challenger, Derek Chisora. The bout took place on 14 July 2012 at th ...
as the main event. The venue was later changed to
Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
Alsterdorfer Sporthalle (originally known as the Sporthalle Hamburg) is an indoor arena in Hamburg, Germany. The arena holds up to 7,000 people with 4,200 seats. It opened in 1968 and is located in the city's quarter of Winterhude.
It hosts mainly ...
in
Alsterdorf
Alsterdorf () is a quarter in the Hamburg-Nord borough of the Hamburg, Germany. The name derives from the river Alster and its artificial lakes Außenalster and Binnenalster in the centre of Hamburg. In 2020 the population was 15,227.
History
Arou ...
,
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. On 28 June, Rahman pulled out with a hand injury.
The fight was rescheduled for 29 September with
Kubrat Pulev
Kubrat Venkov Pulev ( bg, Кубрат Венков Пулев; born 4 May 1981) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the unified heavyweight title in 2014 and 2020. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight ...
vs.
Alexander Ustinov
Alexander "Sasha" Ustinov (russian: Александр Устинов; born 7 December 1976) is a Russian professional boxer,. Retrieved 1 October 2016. former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In boxing, he has challenged once for the WBA (Re ...
for the European title as co-feature.
The opening round saw very little action between both fighters. Round 2 saw Povetkin come out throwing and landing at will with Rahman spending most of the round against the ropes. Rahman did not throw back and eventually referee Gustavo Padilla stepped in to stop the fight. At the same time, Rahman's corner appeared to be on the ring apron with a towel. The fight was slated as a miss-match. After the fight, Povetkin said, "I'm ready to fight everybody. When (my handlers) say it's time to fight Klitschko, I will be ready. He's the best heavyweight in the world and I will be ready to fight him." According to CompuBox Stats, Povetkin landed 42 of 85 punches thrown (49%), this included 33 power punches and Rahman landed 10 of his 44 thrown (23%), 2 of which were power shots.
In April 2013, prior to a big showdown with Wladimir Klitschko, Povetkin chose to fight
Andrzej Wawrzyk
Andrzej Wawrzyk (born 26 September 1987) is a Polish heavyweight boxer. He challenged once for the WBA (Regular) world heavyweight title in 2013.
Amateur career
Wawrzyk won the European junior title 2006 beating future world champion Ciocan in ...
(27-0, 13 KOs) on 17 May, in a voluntary title defence. Team Sauerland revealed as part of the deal, if Wawrzyk pulled an upset, he would sign with Sauerland Event on a 3-fight deal. The fight took place at the
Crocus City Hall
The Crocus City Hall (russian: Крокус-Сити-холл) is a music venue administratively located in ''Krasnogorsk Urban Settlement'' (near the city of Krasnogorsk) in the Krasnogorsky District (north-west to Moscow Ring Road). The ven ...
in Moscow. Like most of Povetkin's fights, the first round had very little action. Povetkin dropped Wawrzyk in round 2 with a right hand. Wawrzyk beat the count and barely made it to the end of the round. In round 3, Povetkin carried on landing big punches, dropping Wawrzyk a further two times before the referee intervened to stop the fight. In the post-fight, Povetkin said, "I just wanted to show some offensive arsenal. I trained for a longer fight but, well, it has ended pretty fast. We didn't plan to win by a TKO."
Povetkin vs. Klitschko
At the end of 2012, the
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
ordered its super-champion
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
(60-3, 52 KOs) to fight regular-champion Povetkin by 24 February 2013, but the two sides couldn't reach an agreement. WBA let Klitschko have another voluntary title defence before taking on Povetkin, but there should have been a signed contract with Povetkin before 28 February, with a new deadline for their bout no later than 31 July.
Promoter Vladimir Hryunov won the right to promote Klitschko vs. Povetkin with a purse bid of $23,333,330 and Russian businessman Andrey Ryabinsky putting up the money. Failed bids made were from K2 Promotions ($7,130,000) and Povetkin's promoter
Sauerland Event ($6,014,444). It allowed Ryabinsky to dictate the location of the fight and guaranteed the fighters the biggest purses of their careers. Based on being entitled to 75 percent of the winning bid, Klitschko got $17,499,997, while Povetkin received $5,833,333. The Klitschko camp were said to be surprised by the bid. The fight was expected to generate around 100 million viewers in Europe.
It was reported that the
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
was going to attend the fight.
The fight took place in October 2013, Klitschko's third consecutive undefeated opponent. The bout was marred with over 160 clinches, most initiated by Klitschko, followed by several repeated roughhouse tactics throughout the match. This included Klitschko's leaning on his opponent and pushing his head down and throwing Povetkin away to prevent Povetkin from clinching, which resulted in the referee scoring some of Povetkin's fallings as knockdowns, as well as Povetkin's punching after referee's break command and leaning his head too low. Klitschko won by unanimous decision scoring a knockdown in round 2 from a quick left hook, and 3 knockdowns in round 7 including one prompted from a straight right hand. All 3 judges scored it 119–104 on the scorecards. Klitschko landed 139 of 417 punches (33%) and Povetkin connected on 59 of 283 (21%). After the fight, Klitschko told in the interview that he had little desire to go for the knockout as the Russian crowd would be disappointed, which lead to speculations about the alleged agreement between the champion and organisers to let the bout go the distance, which Klitschko later denied. With 9.2 rating, the fight became the most popular sporting event on
Russian television in 2013, as well as the most watched TV programme of the year in
the capital of Russia with 13.9 rating, surpassing the
Moscow Victory Day Parade
The Moscow Victory Day Parade ( rus, Парад Победы в Москве, r= Parad Pobedy v Moskve) refers to the annual military parade of the Russian Armed Forces on Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the Victory Day (9 May), Victory Day ...
.
2014–2015: Return victories
Povetkin vs. Charr, Takam
Povetkin bounced back in 2014, completely changing his training routine and diet. On 2 May 2014, it was confirmed that he would fight former WBC title challenger, WBC #7 ranked
Manuel Charr
Mahmoud Omeirat Charr ( ar, محمود عميرات شعار), previously known as Manuel Charr, is a German professional boxer who held the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title from 2017 to 2021, and challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in 201 ...
(26-1, 15 KOs) on 30 May. Povetkin claimed the vacant WBC International title after stopping Charr in 7 rounds. Both fighters started off strong with Charr landing his jab, however at the same time, Povetkin managed to land big uppercuts. Over the next three rounds, both fighters continued to press on the attack. At the end of round 4, Charr had managed to only win one round on all three judges scorecards. In round 7, Povetkin landed a three-punch combination which dropped Charr, flat on his back. Referee Massimo Barrovecchio did not count and stopped the fight immediately at 1 minute and 9 seconds.
In August 2014 it was announced a deal was close to being reached which would see Povetkin challenge French-Cameroonian contender
Carlos Takam
Armand Carlos Netsing Takam (born 6 December 1980) is a Cameroonian-born French professional boxer. He has challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles against in 2017. As an amateur, he represented Cameroon a ...
(30-1-1, 23 KOs) for his
WBC Silver
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
heavyweight title. A few days later, World of Boxing promoter Andrei Ryabinsky stated the contracts had been signed for the fight to take place on 24 October at the
Palace of Sports
Palace of Sports or Sports Palace (russian: Дворец спорта) is a generic name of comprehensive indoors sports venues introduced in the Soviet Union (compare with Palace of Culture) of big size that includes various sports halls and auxil ...
in Luzhniki. In what was considered a back and forth fight and potential fight of the year, Povetkin scored a round 10 KO win to secure the WBC Silver title. At the end of round 4, two judges had Takam ahead 39–37 and 39–38, whilst the remaining judge had Povetkin ahead 39–37. From round 8, Povetkin began to increase the number of punches he was throwing and in round 9, referee Kenny Bayless issued a standing 8-count to Takam after Povetkin landed some unanswered shots, which had Takam held up by the ropes. Takam failed to recover and in round 10, Povetkin landed a left hook to his chin, dropping Takam. Bayless waved the fight off immediately. BoxingScene.com voted the final punch as their knockout of the year for 2014.
Povetkin vs. Perez, Wach
It was announced that Povetkin's next fight against
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
based
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
contender
Mike Perez (21-1-1, 13 KOs) would take place on 22 May 2015 and serve as a final eliminator for the
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
heavyweight title, held by American boxer
Deontay Wilder
Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight ch ...
. Due to the winner potentially being next in line to challenge Wilder, ESPN announced they would air the fight live on
ESPN3.com
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (w ...
. Povetkin earned a mandatory title shot by knocking out Perez in the first round in devastating fashion. The fight lasted just 91 seconds. Povetkin sent the southpaw Perez down with three right hands. Perez beat the count, then took a beating on the ropes, ending the contest.
In August 2015, a deal was reached for Povetkin to fight once beaten former world title challenger
Mariusz Wach
Mariusz Wach (; born 14 December 1979) is a Polish professional boxer. He challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles against Wladimir Klitschko in 2012.
Early life
Mariusz Wach was born 14 December 1979 ...
(31-1, 17 KOs) in
Kazan, Russia
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...
4 November 2015. Wach had previously gone 12 rounds with
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
. The fight would be the main event of a packed Russian card that featured multiple world title fights. After the fight was announced, Povetkin spoke of his disappointment of not being able to land Wilder on the same date. Wach started off the fight with success, keeping the smaller Povetkin at range with his jab. But as the rounds went on, Povetkin was able to find his range and begin to push Wach around the ring with combinations on the inside. Towards the end of the fight, with both participants cut, Povetkin urged the referee stoppage as he deemed Wach, who was being hit at will essentially, unable to continue.
On the morning of the fight, the WBC approved another voluntary defence for Wilder, which would likely take place in January 2016. This meant the potential Wilder vs. Povetkin fight would take place around May 2016. Wach allegedly only received 10% of his purse, due to his ongoing difficulties with his promoter Jimmy Burchfield. In December, it was reported that Wach failed a post-fight drug test.
2016: WBC heavyweight title contention
Povetkin vs. Wilder, cancellation
It was announced that Povetkin would fight
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
World Champion
Deontay Wilder
Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight ch ...
(36-0, 35 KOs) in Moscow, Russia, on a date set to yet be announced at the
Megasport Arena
Megasport Sport Palace (russian: Дворец спорта "Мегаспорт" ''Dvorets sporta Megasport''), formerly Khodynka Arena or Ice Sport Palace, is a multi-purpose indoor arena that is located in Moscow, Russia. The arena is situated ...
. It was originally set for May 21, 2016 until Povetkin failed a drug test. On May 14, it was reported that Povetkin had failed a drugs test. The fight has been put in jeopardy after he tested positive for the banned substance
meldonium
Meldonium (INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a limited-market pharmaceutical, developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis, and now manufactured by the Latvian pharmaceutical company Grin ...
. Promotor Andrei Ryabinsky added that Povetkin did take meldonium last year, but stopped before it was banned, and only "leftover traces of meldonium at a very low concentration" were found in a blood sample given by the 36-year-old last month. It was reported on May 15, that the assertion from Povetkin's promoter that it was in his system only because he took it late last year, before it was banned, appeared untrue. The WBC announced on May 15, a week before the fight that it would be postponed. On May 31, it was announced on Sky Sports by Povetkin's promoters that new drug test results prove the Povetkin is a clean athlete. The new doping test, taken May 17, showed no traces of meldonium. This was reported by VADA.
Povetkin vs. Stiverne, cancellation
With Wilder out until early 2017, the WBC ordered mandatory challenger Povetkin to fight former world champion
Bermane Stiverne
Bermane Stiverne (born November 1, 1978) is a Haitian-Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2014 to 2015. He also challenged twice for world titles in 2017 and 2021.
Amateur career
Stiverne started boxing at the ...
for the interim WBC heavyweight title. Stiverne previously held the WBC title losing his first defence to Wilder. The winner would eventually go on to challenge Wilder upon his return for the full version of the title. A purse bid was scheduled for October 10. The purse bid was won by World of Boxing promoter Andrey Ryabinsky. The winning bid was $3.165 million, beating out the two other bids, one from
Don King
Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing Promoter (entertainment), promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cas ...
for $2.1 million and another from Eye of the Tiger promotions for $542,000. Povetkin and Stiverne are due to earn a base purse of $1,424,250 each due to a 50–50 split, with the winner receiving the remainder $316,500 as a bonus.
On November 11, the WBC were told by VADA that Stiverne had tested positive on a drug test. It was said that the banned substance was
methylhexaneamine
Methylhexanamine (also known as methylhexamine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, 1,3-DMAA, dimethylamylamine, and DMAA; trade names Forthane and Geranamine) is an indirect sympathomimetic drug invented and developed by Eli Lilly and Company and marketed as ...
, which is also known as
dimethylamylamine
Methylhexanamine (also known as methylhexamine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, 1,3-DMAA, dimethylamylamine, and DMAA; trade names Forthane and Geranamine) is an indirect sympathomimetic drug invented and developed by Eli Lilly and Company and marketed as ...
or 'DMAA'. Povetkin's camp confirmed the fight will still go ahead. Stiverne claimed he ingested a post-workout supplement called SUPERPHARM without knowing it included dimethylamylamine, but under VADA’s rules an athlete is responsible for whatever goes into their body. The WBC took into account that it was Stiverne’s first offence when making its ruling and fined him $75,000. Just 20 hours before the fight was to take place, the WBC withdrew its sanction of the fight stating Povetkin had failed another drug test, this time for
Ostarine
Enobosarm, also known as ostarine or MK-2866, is an investigational selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) developed by GTx, Inc. for the treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting and osteoporosis, formerly under development by Merc ...
. The test was taken of December 6. Stiverne later made a statement to tell everyone he will be heading home to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and did not want to fight if the sanction was off, as that was the whole reason for him training and taking the fight in Russia. Following the cancellation, Stiverne's promoter Don King stated he would be filing a lawsuit against World of Boxing promoter Andrey Ryabinsky, just as Ryabinsky did against King when Lebedev pulled out of his scheduled rematch against Guillermo Jones, after Jones tested positive for a second time. At that time, Ryabinsky was awarded $1.6m in damages. On December 23, Ryabinsky stated that Povetkin's sample from December 13 came back negative. Ryabinsky claimed that the test where he had tested positive contained 0,00000000001g traces of ostarine and a previous random test in November also came back negative.
Povetkin vs. Duhaupas
After Stiverne withdrew himself from the title claiming he would be heading home, there was ongoing talks for WBC Silver heavyweight champion
Johann Duhaupas
Johann Duhaupas (pronounced yoh-hun doo-uh-paw) (born 5 February 1981) is a French professional boxer who challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in 2015. At regional level he has held multiple heavyweight titles, including the European Union ...
(34-3, 21 KOs) to step in and fight Povetkin instead. Hours later it was confirmed that the fight would take place on short notice with no titles at stake. Povetkin dominated and knocked out Duhaupas in the 6th round. Povetkin had Duhaupas hurt in the 4th round after connecting with a right hand to the head. The end came when Povetkin hurt Duhaupas with two left hooks to the head in round 6 to knock him down and out. The fight was halted by the referee, as Duhaupas was badly hurt from the left hands. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:59 of the 6th round.
2017–2018: Rebuilding career
Fine and suspension
On March 3, 2017, Povetkin was handed a fine of $250,000 and banned indefinitely by the
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...
for failing drug tests. Their ban meant they would no longer sanction his fights. It was also noted on the documents presented by the WBC that Povetkin would be allowed to apply in March 2018 to be included in the rankings.
The lifetime ban was lifted by the WBC on 8 December 2017. it was announced that Povetkin would be inserted back into the WBC rankings from January 2018.
Povetkin vs. Rudenko
On 16 May 2017 it was confirmed that Povetkin would return to the ring on 1 July in Moscow. In a statement, Povetkin said: "I do not care with who I fight with. I'm sure my team will pick me a good interesting opponent, with whom we will have a spectacular fight. My job is to train and show good boxing ability. I'm ready to fight against any opponent." His promoter, Andrei Ryabinsky was in talks with several candidates. On 24 May, it was announced that Povetkin would fight
Andriy Rudenko
Andriy Volodymyrovych Rudenko ( uk, Андрій Володимирович Руденко, born 4 September 1983) is a Ukrainian professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxin ...
(31-2, 19 KOs), who was ranked 9th by the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
; and 13th by the WBC and IBF. The fight was being billed as a "Battle of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
vs.
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
",
despite the fact that Rudenko was relatively unknown in Ukraine, where the fight was featured on rather smaller TV channel
XSPORT instead of
Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club
* FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...
. Rudenko was on a seven-fight winning streak following back-to-back losses to
Lucas Browne
Lucas Browne (born 14 April 1979) is an Australian professional boxer and former mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He held the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title in 2016 when he stopped Ruslan Chagaev. At regional level, he has held multiple hea ...
and
Hughie Fury
Hughie Lewis Fury (born 18 September 1994) is a British professional boxer. He challenged once for the WBO heavyweight title in 2017 at 23 years old and at national level held the British heavyweight title in 2018. As an amateur he represent ...
. On 14 June, the WBO decided to sanction the bout and announced that the vacant WBO International heavyweight title would be at stake.
Soon after the fight began Rudenko had problems right away. The fight almost came to an end in the first round after Povetkin accidentally hit Rudenko in the back of his neck with an overhand punch in the middle of a clinch. Rudenko spent five minutes complaining that he had injured his neck while Povetkin waited patiently in the corner to resume but fans in attendance began to whistle in displeasure at Rudenko whom they saw as feigning injury. The ringside doctor determined that Rudenko had a
spasm
A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ such as the bladder.
A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscle c ...
and that Rudenko wanted to pull out of the fight. However the referee eventually persuaded Rudenko to continue. During the interval between rounds eight and nine Rudenko again wanted to stop the fight but his corner firmly insisted on continuing. Povetkin went on to control every round winning a one-sided fight on all three judges scorecards 120–109, 120–108, and 120–108. Along with the WBO International title Povetkin also won the WBA Continental title. Following the win the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
re-instated Povetkin into the rankings for July 2017. He was placed at No. 13 ranking.
Povetkin vs. Hammer
On 10 October 2017, it was revealed that Povetkin would return to fight at the DIVS in
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
on 15 December. It was rumoured that his opponent would be No. 2 WBO
Christian Hammer
Christian Hammer (born Cristian Ciocan) is a Romanian-German professional boxer who held the WBO European heavyweight title three times between 2012 and 2018.
Professional career
Ciocan's first coach was Felix Păun.
Hammer vs. Gregorin
He ...
(22-4, 12 KOs) in a title eliminator. #4 WBO Tom Schwrtz was also considered. Povetkin's promoter, World of Boxing stated the WBO International title would be at stake. At the time, Hammer was on a five-fight win streak since his last loss, to the hands of
Tyson Fury
Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Council, WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and ''The Ring (magazine), The Ring'' ...
in February 2015. On 23 October, Alexei Titov, executive director of RCC Boxing Promotions who were working to organise the event, stated that he would attend WBO's annual convention in the next week and ask them to sanction the bout as a final eliminator. On 31 October, Hammer's promoter Erol Ceylan of EC Boxpromotion confirmed the bout. A month prior to the fight, Povetkin's manager announced that former cruiserweight contender
BJ Flores
Benjamin "BJ" Flores (born January 29, 1979) is an American former professional boxer and a current boxing trainer. He challenged once for the WBC cruiserweight world title in 2016, and twice for interim world titles at cruiserweight and heavyw ...
(34-3-1, 21 KOs), who had previously called out Povetkin, would be on standby as a replacement in case Hammer withdrew or could not make the fight. A deal could not be reached with Flores, and instead Japanese contender
Kyotaro Fujimoto
is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2011 to 2019 and a kickboxer. He began competing again as a professional kickboxer in 2021.
He is the former K-1 Heavyweight Champion and successfully defended the title against kickbo ...
(18-1, 10 KOs) signed the contract to become the back-up. On 8 November, the WBC announced that they would be lifting the lifetime ban effective immediately from 7 December 2017. From this date, WBC would start a probation period which would end on 6 December 2018. The ruling also stated that Povetkin would be re-instated in the WBC rankings in January 2018.
Povetkin outworked a survival-oriented Hammer to win a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision, in what was a final eliminator to the WBA title, held by
Anthony Joshua
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
. The three judges' scores were 120–107, 120–108, and 118–108. The referee had warned Hammer repeatedly to stop putting Povetkin in headlocks, but he did not stop, eventually having a point deducted in round 7. Hammer came alive towards the end of each round, landing some big shots, at times knocking Povetkin off balance. After the fight, promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy said, “I have confirmation from WBA that Anthony Joshua must fight the winner of Povetkin-Hammer.”
Povetkin vs. Price
On 16 January 2018, after unification fight
Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker
Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker, billed as Road to Undisputed, was a professional boxing heavyweight unification match contested between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. The event took place on 31 March 2018 at Principality Stadium in Ca ...
was announced, promoter
Eddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter who is chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn is the son of promoter Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom Sport.
Education
Hearn was a student a ...
offered Povetkin an opportunity to fight on the undercard, which would take place on 31 March at the
Principality Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Wales. Contenders
Derek Chisora
Derek Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Common ...
and
David Price were mentioned as potential opponents. The next day, Price spoke to Sky Sports stating they accepted Hearn's offer and would be willing to fight Povetkin. On 30 January, Hearn told a reporter a deal was close being done after Povetkin also agreed to the fight. Three days later, the fight was officially confirmed. Povetkin won the fight via knockout in round 5. Povetkin badly hurt Price with a right hand, who was then defenceless, Povetkin finished off with a left hook that put Price down flat on the canvas. Without a count, referee Howard John Foster halted the fight. The official time of the stoppage was at 1:02 of round 5. In round 3, Povetkin knocked Price down with a right hand to the head. Price got up and came back strong landing some hard punches of his own. Price hurt Povetkin late in round 3 with a left hook which resulted in Povetkin falling backwards towards the ropes. The referee ruled it a knockdown due to the ropes holding Povetkin up. Price did not take advantage of the knockdown, but it looked as though he had tired himself out. With the win, Povetkin was now in position to become
Anthony Joshua
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
's mandatory challenger from the WBA and WBO. Joshua picked up the WBO title in defeating
Joseph Parker in the main event.
Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte (; born 11 April 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice, between 2019 and 2020, and again from 2021 to April 2022. ...
, who at the time was ranked WBC #1 stated he would fight Povetkin.
Povetkin vs. Joshua
From April up until the end of June 2018, both camps of
Anthony Joshua
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
(21-0, 20 KOs) and
Deontay Wilder
Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight ch ...
were in deep talks around the super fight to finally take place. The main hurdles were split, date and venue. At one point Wilder had agreed to fight Joshua in the UK, however there was slight confusions in the contracts that were being sent back and forth. At the same time, Hearn was also working a deal out for Joshua to fight WBA mandatory challenger Povetkin. The WBA initially ordered the fight after Povetkin knocked out David Price on the Joshua-Parker undercard. Negotiations took a turn on 26 June when the WBA gave Joshua's camp 24 hours to finalise a deal with Povetkin. With Joshua closer to fighting Povetkin in September 2018, Hearn stated the Joshua-Wilder fight would still take place in April 2019 at Wembley Stadium. Hearn later explained that the WBA would have granted an exemption, had Wilder signed a deal to fight Joshua.
On 5 July, Hearn announced the
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in London would host Joshua's next two fights on 22 September 2018 and again on 13 April 2019. On 16 July, Joshua vs. Povetkin for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles was officially announced for 22 September on Sky Box Office. Many British pundits and trainers spoke around how Joshua should not underestimate Povetkin and how he would pose a big threat to Joshua.
In front of nearly 80,000 in attendance, Joshua overcame a short struggle, eventually coming out with a victory in round 7 through
TKO to retain his world titles. Using his movement and coming in and out, Povetkin had Joshua hurt early on with his big shots. In round 2, Joshua's nose began to bruise. From round 5, Povetkin began to tire. Joshua dropped Povetkin with a left hand to the head in round 7. Povetkin got back up but Joshua was straight back in with a flurry of hard shots, before the referee mercifully stopped the fight. At the time of stoppage, the three judges scorecards were 58–56, 58–56, and 59–55 in favour of Joshua.
In the post-fight interview, Joshua stated, "I've got my knockout streak back and I found my right hand again. Alexander Povetkin is a very tough challenge. He provided that, he was good with left hook. I realized he was strong to the head but weak to the body so I was switching it up. Every jab takes a breath out of you and I slowed him down." He then announced he would post a poll on Twitter asking the fans who they would like to see him fight next. Compubox Punch stats showed that Joshua landed 90 of 256 punches thrown (35%), with 53 of them landed being jabs. Povetkin landed 47 of his 181 thrown (26%). Povekin connected with 43 power shots compared to the 37 Joshua landed. There was also a huge size advantage in favour of Joshua, who weighed 246 pounds to Povetkin's 222 pounds. It was reported that Joshua would earn around £20 million and Povetkin would earn around £6 million for the fight.
In November 2018, according to his promoter Andrei Ryanbinsky, Povetkin would retire after two more fights.
2019–2021: Later career
By the end of December 2018, Povetkin recovered from elbow operations following his loss to Joshua and stated he would start a training camp in January 2019, hoping for a fight in April. Povetkin expected his return to the ring would take place in either the UK or US. A few names had been reported such as
Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte (; born 11 April 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice, between 2019 and 2020, and again from 2021 to April 2022. ...
and
Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk ( uk, Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WB ...
. On 4 March, it was reported that Usyk would fight either Povetkin or
Carlos Takam
Armand Carlos Netsing Takam (born 6 December 1980) is a Cameroonian-born French professional boxer. He has challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles against in 2017. As an amateur, he represented Cameroon a ...
on 18 May 2019 in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Two days later it was reported, whilst a potential Usyk-Povetkin fight could take place in 2019, both boxers would take interim bout first.
Povetkin vs. Fury
Povetkin scored a twelve-round unanimous decision against
Hughie Fury
Hughie Lewis Fury (born 18 September 1994) is a British professional boxer. He challenged once for the WBO heavyweight title in 2017 at 23 years old and at national level held the British heavyweight title in 2018. As an amateur he represent ...
on 31 August 2019 at
The O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...
in London on the
Vasyl Lomachenko
Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko ( uk, Василь Анатолійович Ломаченко, ; also spelled Vasiliy; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes fr ...
vs.
Luke Campbell undercard. All of the officials had the bout exactly the same – 117–111 for Povetkin, who turned 40 two days later.
Povetkin vs. Hunter
Povetkin faced
Michael Hunter on 7 December on the undercard of
Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua II
Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua II, billed as Clash On The Dunes, was a heavyweight professional boxing rematch between the Mexican-American champion Andy Ruiz Jr. and British former champion Anthony Joshua, for the unified WBA (Super), ...
built Diriyah Arena in
Diriyah
Diriyah ( ar, الدِرْعِيّة), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya), is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served ...
, Saudi Arabia. Both shared a
split decision draw after twelve rounds, the first draw of each fighter's career. In the ring following the fight, Povetkin and Hunter spoke about their desire for a rematch to settle the score.
The fight began at a furious pace as Hunter came out fast and rocked Povetkin multiple times in the first round. The two relatively small heavyweights traded hooks and did not hang around before jumping in close. Hunter's speed continued to trouble Povetkin in the second as he wobbled the Russian again, who stood firm and refused to wilt early on. Povetkin appeared to have somewhat weathered the storm by the third and fourth rounds as Hunter's punches had less of an effect on him and he returned fire with shots of his own. The tables turned for a moment in the fifth as Povektin rocked Hunter with a left hook. The 31-year-old staggered backwards and was seemingly kept up by the ropes, though no knockdown was given. Action died down slightly in the sixth but reignited in the seventh as both men traded in the middle of the ring and appeared to hurt one another with their respective power punches. As the bout drew deeper into the second half, the pair simply could not maintain the pace of some of their earlier exchanges and things became scrappy at times. Hunter appeared to be landing the cleaner shots, catching Povetkin as he came charging forwards before utilising his own effective aggression. By the tenth, Povetkin appeared to have expended all of his energy and in the eleventh he began to grab hold of Hunter while being repeatedly caught with right hands. Come the final session, the result seemed to be heading in the American's favour, but his lackluster efforts in the last minutes proved to cost him as the result was read out as a split decision draw: 115–113 Povetkin, 115–113 Hunter, and 114–114 draw. Hunter said post-fight: "I don't make the scores so there's nothing I can say on it. I think I've done enough, but obviously the judges didn't think so, I hope I get the chance to fight him again." Povetkin replied: "I think it was a 50/50 fight. Absolutely, I will do it again for sure."
Povetkin vs. Whyte
Povetkin was scheduled to face
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
interim
An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities.
Interim may also refer to:
Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept)
*Provis ...
heavyweight champion
Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte (; born 11 April 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice, between 2019 and 2020, and again from 2021 to April 2022. ...
on 2 May 2020, however, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
the date was pushed back to 22 August. Whyte, installed as the pre-fight betting favourite, started off well and controlled the fight in the first four rounds, knocking Povetkin down twice in the fourth. However, 30 seconds into the following round, Povetkin landed an uppercut which left Whyte laid flat on his back, prompting the referee to call a halt to the contest. With a knockout of the year contender, Povetkin was announced the winner of the bout by fifth-round technical knockout. According to official viewing figures, the fight accumulated 222,000
PPV
PPV, ppv or pPv may refer to:
Technology
* Pay-per-view on cable or satellite television
* People Powered Vehicle, a human-powered vehicle from 1970
* Police Pursuit Vehicles, the most common police vehicles in the United States and Canada
Scienc ...
buys on
Sky Sports Box Office
Sky Box Office is Sky Limited, Sky's pay-per-view (PPV) system operated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There were three branded divisions of Sky Box Office – Sky Cinema Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and Sky 3D Box Office. Until 1 Febru ...
.
Povetkin vs. Whyte II
Povetkin's first defence of his WBC interim heavyweight title consisted of an immediate rematch against
Dillian Whyte
Dillian Whyte (; born 11 April 1988) is a British professional boxer. He has formerly competed as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He held the WBC interim heavyweight title twice, between 2019 and 2020, and again from 2021 to April 2022. ...
in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. The fight had originally been scheduled to take place in November 2020, but was postponed to 27 March 2021 when Povetkin contracted
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. With a mainly pro-Whyte crowd of 500 fans present at the
Europa Point Sports Complex
Europa Sports Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Gibraltar; it was previously a Ministry of Defence cricket pitch. In 2019 it hosted the Island Games opening ceremony and will also host the annual Gibraltar Music Festival.
In February 2014 the ...
, Povetkin lost the fight by way of fourth-round technical knockout, a result that saw Whyte regain the WBC interim title at Povetkin's expense. After the fight, Russian promoter
Andrey Ryabinsky said he would try to "persuade him
ovetkinto end his career", citing concerns about the fighter's health.
Retirement
On 13 June 2021, Povetkin announced his retirement from boxing aged 41, citing lingering injuries that require treatment: "The years take their toll, I have all kinds of injuries that still need to be treated. The time has come for me to end my career."
Personal life
Povetkin has a daughter named Arina with his ex-wife, Irina. In July 2013, Alexander married Yevgenia Merkulova in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. He also has a brother, Vladimir Povetkin, who fights as a professional
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
. Both fighters were trained by Valery Belov. Povetkin has declared himself a
Rodnover
The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery
* bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie
* bs, Rodnovjerje
* mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie
* cz, Rodnověří
* hr, Rodnovjerje
* pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...
, he wears a
Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmam ...
Axe necklace and has the
Star of Rus tattooed on his inner left biceps.
[I'm a pagan. In spirit and conscience is closer to me than Christianity(2014-01-29) . www.sports.ru/tribuna/]
Professional boxing record
Television viewership
Germany
Russia
Ukraine
UK pay-per-view bouts
See also
*
List of world heavyweight boxing champions
At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...
*
List of WBA world champions
This is a list of WBA world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Association (WBA). The list also includes champions certified by the National Boxing Association (NBA), the predecessor to the WBA.
Boxers who won t ...
*
List of Olympics medalists in boxing
*
Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. The event was only open to men and bouts were contested over four rounds of two minutes each. Five judges scored the fighters in real time and the boxer with the ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Povetkin, Alexander
1979 births
Boxers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Super-heavyweight boxers
Olympic boxers of Russia
Olympic gold medalists for Russia
Living people
Sportspeople from Kursk
Russian male kickboxers
Olympic medalists in boxing
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Russian male boxers
Russian modern pagans
World heavyweight boxing champions
AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists
World Boxing Association champions
Doping cases in boxing
Russian sportspeople in doping cases
Russian expatriate sportspeople in Germany