Weights: Charr 247.3, Povetkin 224.8

By Boxing News - 05/29/2014 - Comments

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By Allan Fox: #7 WBC heavyweight contender Manuel Charr (26-1, 15 KO’s) weighed in 22.5 lbs. heavier than former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18 KO’s) at today’s weigh-in for their clash on Friday night at the Luzhniki, in Moscow, Russia. Charr, 6’3 ½”, weighed in at 247.3 lbs. compared to Povetkin’s 224.8 lbs. for their fight for the vacant WBC International heavyweight title.

Povetkin will be giving up a lot of size in this fight to Charr, but it likely won’t matter much. Povetkin is the much better fighter with the superior skills and power. If Charr decides to punch with Povetkin, we could see an early knockout win for Povetkin if Charr’s skin holds together.
Povetkin lost his WBA title last October in a 12 round decision loss to Wladimir Klitschko.

It was a fight that was tarnished by Wladimir’s constant clinching and leaning on the back of Povetkin’s neck. The referee did nothing to stop Wladimir’s holding and leaning, so the fight turned out to be a really disappointing one for the boxing fans in Moscow, Russia.

This is a big step up in class for Charr, as he’s spent much of his career facing 3rd tier opposition with the exception of his title shot against former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in 2012. Charr lost that fight by a 4th round TKO when the fight was halted on cuts.

After the stoppage, Charr was pretty upset and spent a considerable amount of time stomping around the ring, waving his arms in the air and looking furious. The cut probably saved Charr from taking a beating and getting knocked out because Vitali was lining him up for a big knockout shot during the 4 rounds of action and it was only a matter of time before he eventually caught him with a right hand.

The winner of the Charr-Povetkin fight will likely see themselves pushed up the rankings. Charr will need to fight an eliminator to become the WBC mandatory in the future, but that’s if he’s not able to take himself onto an optional world title shot at some point.



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