Alexander Povetkin vs. Carlos Takam on October 25th in Moscow, Russia

By Boxing News - 08/21/2014 - Comments

takam77By Allan Fox: Former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (27-1, 19 KOs) will be taking a dangerous fight against #5 WBC, #9 IBF Carlos Takam (30-1-1, 23 KOs) on October 25th in Moscow, Russia.

Povetkin, #3 WBA, is trying to work his way back into a quick title shot after losing his title last October to IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko by a 12 round unanimous decision. Povetkin bounced back from the loss to defeat WBC contender Manuel Charr by a 7th round TKO last May.

Povetkin is now looking to beat another top contender in 33-year-old Takam in 10/25. A win over Takam should get Povetkin elevated to the No.1 position at WBA so that he can get title shot against WBA World heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev, who Povetkin previously beat three years ago by a 12 round unanimous decision in 2011 in a fight for the vacant WBA heavyweight title.

Povetkin, 225lbs, will be giving up 30 pounds to the 257lb Takam in this fight, and that could be a problem for Povetkin. The 6’2 1/2” Takam throws nonstop punches and he’s got decent power. He’s a very busy fighter and he’s going to be in Povetkin’s face the entire fight throwing shots.

Unless Povetkin’s defense is sound, he’s going to get hit a lot in this fight. Earlier in his career, Povetkin was a high volume puncher who won his fights by out-landing his opponents. But at 34, Povetkin has slowed down with his work rate and fights at a slower pace.

The only way Povetkin can handle a guy that throws as many punches as Takam is to fight in an in and out type manner for 12 rounds. If Povetkin fights in brief spurts, he could possibly beat Takam. But it still won’t be easy because Takam cuts off the ring well, and puts extreme amounts of pressure on his opponents.

Takam is coming off of a 12 round unanimous decision win over former two time world title challenger Tony Thompson last June. Takam outworked Thomspon and ended up getting the decision based on his work rate. Before that, Takam fought to a controversial 10 round draw against Mike Perez last January in a fight that many boxing fans felt that Takam deserved the decision.



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