Haye and Povetkin both interested in facing Andrzej Wawrzyk next

By Boxing News - 04/08/2013 - Comments

povetkin334By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Andrzej Wawrzyk (27-0, 13 KO’s) finds himself very much in demand with WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (25-0, 17 KO’s) and former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) both wanting to fight him next, according to fightnews.com.

The 6’5” Wawrzyk will likely agree to face whichever fighter gives him the bigger offer. You would assume that it might be Povetkin given that he’s a world champion, but Wawrzyk, #7 WBA, #14 WBC, isn’t a mandatory challenger, so the money that he would get for a title shot against Povetkin wouldn’t be nearly as good as it would be if he were the mandatory challenger. Haye might be able to get Wawrzyk if he can guarantee him a bigger payday.

Povetkin, 33, will be fighting next on May 17th at the Crocus City Hall, in Myakinino, Russia. Povetkin wants a big heavyweight around the same size as IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko because that’s who Povetkin will be facing in August.

Povetkin wants someone with similar size so that he can get used to the size of the 6’6” Wladimir. There’s no doubt that the 6’5”, 250 pound Wawrzyk is about as big as Wladimir, but that’s the only thing they have in common. Wawrzyk doesn’t have much power to speak of, and he’s not very fast either. Wawrzyk reminds me a lot of a cross between Alexander Dimintrenko and Francesco Pianeta.

Wawrzyk is a light puncher like Pianeta, and he fights like Dimitrenko the way he just covers up and takes shots for extended periods of time. I see Wawrzyk as a weak version of Dimitrenko. I rate Dimitrenko as a better fighter than Wawrzyk by far because he can do everything Wawrzyk can do, but he’s faster on his feet and has better power and hand speed.

It’s not surprising that Haye and Povetkin badly want to fight Wawrzyk because he’s not a threat to them without power, and he’s got a high ranking by the WBA and an unbeaten record. Haye could beat Wawrzyk and then get a boost in the rankings.

Beating Wawrzyk will give the appearance that Haye and or Povetkin has accomplished something due to Wawrzyk’s unbeaten record, but in reality they won’t have accomplished anything because the guy has fought nothing but fluff so far and he clearly has no power. I see this as a HUGE step down from Haye’s last opponent Dereck Chisora and Povetkin’s last opponent Hasim Rahman.



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