By Allan Fox: #10 IBF heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitrenko (33-2, 21 KO’s) will be facing 38-year-old journeyman Ivica Perkovic (19-18, 14 KO’s) on Saturday night in a scheduled 8 round bout at the CU Arena, in Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Dimitrenko, 30, weighed in at 251 lbs. on Friday at the weigh-in in Hamburg. His opponent Perkovic weighed in at a hefty 279 lbs., which is normal for him.
For some reason Dimitrenko’s management has decided to put him on a soft diet of weak opponents since he was stopped by unbeaten Kubrat Pulev in the 11th round last year in May. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense for Dimitrenko, a 12-year pro, to be fighting opposition in the class as Perkovic because Dimitrenko is capable of beating much better opposition than this.
Granted, Dimitrenko was dominated by Pulev in that fight, but that doesn’t mean that Dimitrenko should be fighting D level opposition like this.
In Dimitrenko’s last fight last he beat Samir Kurtagic (11-5) by an eight round decision last December. Dimitrenko was knocked down in the 8th round by Kurtagic. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why Dimitrenko’s team are continuing to match him against lower level opposition, but his flaws are still going to be there regardless of the outcome of tonight’s fight.
Dimitrenko lacks power and speed, and his chin is questionable. He’s missing the needed ingredients to be a major player in the heavyweight division, and there’s no amount of tune-up fights that his German management can put him in that will change all that. Dimitrenko will continue to struggle no matter how he faces in the upper level because he’s lacking in skills.
If the 6’7” Dimitrenko’s management is just looking to have him pad his record until he gets a title shot, then y-you can understand the soft match-making for him because there would be a reason for why he’s not facing quality opposition. But if they’re matching him weak with the hopes of it improving him in any real way then I think they’re going to be sadly disappointed when he fails to get any better.
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