Alexander Povetkin vs. Johann Duhaupas – Results

By Boxing News - 12/17/2016 - Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es7LcqlssEw

By Jim Dower: #1 WBC heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin (31-1, 23 KOs) dominated and knocked out an out of shape replacement opponent Johann “Reptile” Duhaupas (34-4, 21 KOs) in stopping him in the 6th round on Saturday night at the Ekaterinburg Expo Center in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The 35-year-old Duhaupas was brought in to replace former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne, who chose not to fight tonight after learning that the World Boxing Council wouldn’t sanction the fight after Povetkin tested positive for a banned substance. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:59 of the 6th round.

At the time of the stoppage, Boxing News 24 had Povetkin ahead three rounds to two. Povetkin was ahead based on work rate, but he didn’t look overly impressive though. Povetkin looked small inside the ring, and not particularly powerful compared to the harder punching heavyweights in the division like Anthony Joshua, David Haye, Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder. Those guys are next level heavyweights when it comes to power compared to Povetkin.
Povetkin, 37, hurt Duhaupas with two left hooks to the head in the 6th to knock him down. The fight was then halted by the referee, as Duhaupas was badly hurt from the two left hands.

Povetkin also had Duhaupas hurt in the 4th round after staging him with a right hand to the head.

Duhaupas didn’t throw much back at Povetkin other than jabs in the fight. The fighter from France faded after three rounds, as he was carrying way too much weight on his frame for him to be competitive in the fight. Once Duhaupas stopped throwing shots, Povetkin went on the attack in the 4th round and landed some big left hooks. Povetkin tripled up on his left hooks in going after the tired and timid looking Duhaupas.

Round one was a close round with Duhaupas using his long reach to jab Povetkin continuously to the head. Povetkin landed one big left hook to the head of Duhaupas. Other than that one big punch, most of Povetkin’s shots were thrown with him throwing shots with his feet not planted on the canvas. The punches didn’t look powerful, and they had little effect on the bigger looking Duhaupas.

In the 2nd round, Duhaupas got the better of Povetkin by hitting him with a lot of jabs to the head. Povetkin was giving up six inches in reach and three inches in height to Duhaupas, and this formed him to take shots each time he would come forward trying to land his big left hooks. Povetkin showed some nifty boxing footwork in attempting to maneuver around Duhaupas’ large body at point in the round to nail him with left hooks, but he wasn’t able to land anything of significance. Duhaupas was the better fighter in that round with his jabs and pressure.

Duhaupas continued to jab Povetkin frequently in the 3rd round, as he came forward and met Povetkin’s attacks head on. Povetkin landed a few left hooks in the round, but for the most part, it was Duhaupas who did the much better work.

Starting in the 4th round, Duhaupas suddenly started looking very tired, and not letting his hands go like he’d been doing in the previous three rounds. Povetkin noticed this and started applying pressure by attacking Duhaupas with left hook combinations. By the end of the round, Duhaupas had a cut on the bridge of his prominent nose. In that round, Povetkin staggered Duhaupas with two left hooks late in the round that had him looking ready to go. Povetkin flurried on Duhaupas, but he smothered his own work by getting too close to him when letting his hands go. What was interesting is that Duhaupas chose not to clinch Povetkin to keep him from getting his shots off. Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko had expertly tied Povetkin up all night long with clinches to keep him from getting his shots off each time he would come within punching range. Duhaupas failed to do this, even when he was hurt. That not smart of him.

In the 5th round, Povetkin landed at will in hitting a tired looking Duhaupas with punches from all angles. Duhaupas just covered up and took the shots. Every once in a while, Duhaupas would attempt to counter Povetkin with a right hand, but for the most, he was just covering up and looking tired. When Duhaupas would throw shots, he was too exhausted to get any power or speed on the punches. They would invariably miss their target badly.

In the 6th round, Duhaupas attempted to let his hands go in throwing weak combinations, but they weren’t landing because he was throwing them from too far away. Povetkin easily got out of the way of most of everything that Duhaupas threw in the round. Finally, Povetkin charged Duhaupas and nailed him with two left hooks to the head that rocked him and put him down on his back on the canvas. The fight was then immediately halted.

All in all, it was a good performance for Povetkin for what he was facing inside the ring tonight. Duhaupas was a 6’5” punching bag, and he offered no real resistance in any way. When Duhaupas is in shape, he’s capable of moving around the ring and throwing shots, but not tonight. He was too badly out of shape to do much beyond the third round. Duhaupas did show good boxing skills in the first three rounds, but after that, he didn’t look so great.

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Povetkin looked better than Duhaupas, but he didn’t look nearly as good as many of the contenders in the division. Povetkin looked very small inside the ring tonight. I don’t know of too many quality heavyweights that Povetkin would have beaten tonight. He looked more like an aging cruiserweight than a quality heavyweight that would be a threat to the top fighters. I think Povetkin’s time as a major player in the heavyweight division is over with. If he’s suspended, it’ll be even clearer that he’s got no place in the heavyweight division. When Povetkin does return to the ring, he might want to think about moving down to cruiserweight to see if he can make something happen in that division, because he looks too small to compete against the best heavyweights.

The way that Povetkin fought tonight, he might have lost the fight if his original opponent Stiverne had shared the ring with him tonight. Stiverne weighed in at 26 pounds heavier than Povetkin at 249lbs, and he’s a much bigger puncher than Duhaupas. It would have been a very difficult fight for Povetkin tonight, because he would have been hit and hit hard all night by the 38-year-old Stiverne.

The triple left hooks that Povetkin was throwing against Duhaupas tonight, they wouldn’t have worked against Stiverne, because he wouldn’t have just stood and covered up while Povetkin threw those punches. Stiverne would have counted Povetkin immediately with a huge left hook or right hand, and stopped him from getting his combinations off.

The WBC is still investigating the positive drug test from Povetkin, and they’re expected to give the results of their investigation soon. It’s anyone’s guess what the WBC will do. It’s not hard to imagine that Povetkin could wind up being fined and/or suspended for a period of time. If it’s just six months, then that’s one thing. But if Povetkin loses one year of his career due to a suspension, it would be serious for him, because he’s 37 now, and he’s in a division with a lot of younger and bigger fighters. David Haye is an exception to the young giants, but Haye is a young 36. He doesn’t have a lot of mileage on him.