Wladimir Klitschko vs. Alexander Povetkin confirmed for Moscow’s Olympic Stadium on October 5th

By Boxing News - 08/12/2013 - Comments

wladimir2By Eric Thomas: The Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KO’s) vs. Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO’s) fight on October 5th has been officially confirmed for Moscow’s Olympic Stadium in Russia, according to Sky Sports. Wladimir,37, will be defending his IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles against WBA World heavyweight champion Povetkin.

This fight will see both fighters getting career high paydays. Wladimir has been making good money for many years with his various heavyweight titles, but nothing like the money he’ll be getting this fight. Wladimir will be getting $17,499,997, while Povetkin will receive $5,833,333.

That’s good money for Povetkin, because he’s never really fought anyone that you could call a real quality heavyweight. Povetkin’s best wins of his career have come against Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Chris Byrd, and Marco Huck.
The size difference between the two fighters was readily apparent when they stood eye to eye during a face off at a recent press conference.

Povetkin looks like cruiserweight, and not nearly big enough to compete with the 6’6” Wladimir. Whether Povetkin has any chance of beating Wladimir will come down his ability to put pressure on the big Ukrainian fighter.

Wladimir’s been beaten before twice by pressure fighters, and once by the late knockout artist Corrie Sanders. Povetkin doesn’t have Sanders-like power, and he’s not as good a pressure fighter as former Wladimir conquerors Ross Puritty and Lamon Brewster.

About the best thing that Povetkin can hope for is that he can tire Wladimir out a little, and then land a big left hook to stun him. Puritty and Brewster both hurt Wladimir with left hooks, and that would seem to be the best method of getting to him. Hitting him with a right hand isn’t easy because Wladimir is good at avoiding those shots.

This will be a big jump up in competition for Povetkin, as he’s not faced a live body since his fight with cruiserweight Marco Huck last year in February, and Poetkin barely won that fight. The last time Poetkin fought a decent heavyweight contender was 5 years ago in 2008 when he beat Eddie Chambers in a fight where Povetkin gasping for breath after the 4th round.



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