A Comprehensive Alexander Povetkin Profile
Alexander Povetkin is a man to be feared in the Heavyweight division, he has only been defeated once in his career and that was to Wladimir Klitschko. His record speaks for itself, a former World Champion he is now next in line to face Deontay Wilder for his WBC crown. It would take a brave man to bet against Povetkin becoming the new WBC Champion.
________________________________________________________________________________
Starting Out
Alexander Povetkin was born in Kursk Russia in 1979. Alexander was a world class kick boxer in his early 20s and has won European and World kickboxing titles.
In 2001 Povetkin turned to boxing and won the Russian Championship at the age of 21, this was just the start, Povetkin went on to win the European and World Championships.
It was at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens where Alexander would propel himself onto the world stage when he won the Super Heavyweight gold medal for Russia. Povetkin had over 130 amateur fights, winning 125 of them, he also avenged any defeat that was on his record.
Turning Pro
After his success in Athens Povetkin turned pro, he made his debut in 2005 in Germany against the German Muhammed Ali Durmaz. Povetkin made easy work of Durmaz winning by TKO in the second round.
A number of routine victories followed the Durmaz fight and it was clear Povetkin had something special. In 2006 he faced Richard Bango the Nigerian who won bronze at the 1992 Olympic games, the fight lasted only 2 rounds.
It was another Nigerian after that for Povetkin, he faced Friday Ahunanya in what was supposed to be his toughest fight since he turned Pro.
Friday was a tough opponent and last all 6 rounds but Povetkin won by a landslide on the cards. Povetkin ended 2006 with a record of 10 fights 10 wins.
Povetkin was now a promising contender as he kept racking up wins against David Bostice and Patrice L’ Heureux both by KO.
Stepping Up
Next up was his first proper test, he faced Larry Donald in his native Russia, Donald held a victory over Evander Holyfield and been in with the giant Russian Nikolai Valuev. Donald took Povetkin the distance but the Russian won by UD, Povetkin bossed the fight with a brilliant, disciplined performance.
In 2007 the IBF created a tournament to find a challenger for Wladimir Klitschko’s IBF title After a routine win against Chris Byrd, he faced Eddie ‘Fast’ Chambers in the final of the tournament (an Eliminator for the IBF Heavyweight Title).
Povetkin overcame Chambers and was named mandatory challenger to Wladimir Klitschko. Povetkin was due to face Klitschko in late 2008 but he had to pull out of the fight due to injury thus losing his mandatory status.
A 9 month lay off followed, Povetkin returned to the ring with a win over Jason Estrada in Germany. After a few keep busy fights, Povetkin got his chance at the WBA ‘Regular’ Title he faced Ruslan Chagaev from Uzbekistan. Povetkin won by Unanimous Decision after surving a scare in the middle of the fight.
Now a World Champion Povetkin made his first defence in Finland against American Cedric Boswell, Povetkin dispatched Boswell in the 8th round.
Next up was Marco Huck (current WBO Cruiserweight Champion) Povetkin won a close fight on points with one judge having scored the fight a draw. The Russian defended his title against Hasim Rahman and Andrzej Wawrzyk in his next two fights, defeating both by TKO.
World Stage and 2015
Povetkin finally got his chance at Wladimir Klitschko in October 2013 challenging for the Ukrainian’s WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF Titles. Povetkin put in a spirited performance but he couldn’t deal with Klitschko’s size and power and was down 4 times in the fight. He lasted the distance but lost convincingly on the scorecards thus losing his WBA crown. This was Povetkin’s first defeat and he hasn’t been beaten since.
Since his defeat to Klitschko, Povetkin has been back to his best defeating Manuel Charr, Carlos Takam and Irish based Cuban Mike Perez all by KO. His demolition of Mike Perez has made the White Lion mandatory challenger for Deontay Wilder’s WBC title.
Povetkin is a force to be reckoned with in the Heavyweight Division, many people are suggesting that Wilder will dispense him easily but that won’t be the case.
Wilder showed a lot of mistakes against Eric Molina a fighter who he should be dealing with handily. Povetkin is the toughest opponent to date for Wilder and if Wilder doesn’t pick up his game Alexander Povetkin will make light work of the Bronze Bomber.
The post Alexander Povetkin Profile – “The White Lion” appeared first on %%Boxing News and Views/%%.
