By Dan Ambrose: In the latest boxing news, IBF heavyweight champion Wladmir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) has reportedly turned down an offer of five million Euro to fight his #1 challenger for his IBF title Alexander Povetkin, according to Bild Zeitung, a German paper. If the story is indeed true, then it means Wladimir has turned down $7 million in U.S dollars to face Povetkin. Klitschko instead is aiming at fighting American Tony Thompson (31-1, 19 KOs), Wladimir’s number #1 challenger for his newly won WBO heavyweight title. Thompson, 36, appears to be the easier option than having to face Povetkin, which perhaps is why Klitschko may be holding off on facing him for the time being.
Klitschko has no option in the future if he wants to continue to hold onto the IBF title due to Povetkin being the mandatory for the title. However, it looks as if Wladimir wants to knock out one more easy fight before having to face the prospects of fighting Povetkin, who would no doubt doubt be a very tough opponent for the 32 year-old Klitschko. It’s doubtful that Wladimir will get anything close to seven million for fighting Thompson, but then again he doesn’t present the same kind of danger that Povetkin does, meaning that Wladimir could get a decent payday against him before taking the Povetkin fight which will considerably more.
Povetkin, 28, is 15-0, and has recently come out on top in the IBF tournament to decide who the mandatory would be for Wladimir’s IBF title. Povetkin defeated both Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in order to capture the number #1 spot as the IBF mandatory, and expected to have a fight with Klitschko shortly after that. Instead, however, Wladimir decided to fight a unification bout with WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov, a fight which Wladimir won by a 12-round unanimous decision. The it was thought that Wladimir would immediately face Povetkin.
It didn’t turn out that way, however, as Klitschko announced last week that he’d be fighting the 6’5″ Thompson next, meaning that Povetkin would have to cool his heals a little longer if he wanted a chance at fighting Wladimir. This obviously didn’t sit right with Povetkin’s German-based promoter, Sauerland Event, who are currently protesting this to the IBF to see if they can prevent Klitschko from carrying out with the Thompson fight. So far, there has been no decision made on the matter.
From Povetkin’s stand point, it’s understandable that why he’d want to face KJlitschko immediately considering that Povetkin had to win the IBF tournament to become the mandatory for Klitschko, and logically one would assume that would mean that he would be next in line for a fight. Also, there’s the danger that Klitschko may somehow lose to Thompson, which would erase any chance of Povetkin fighting Klitschko – the more marketable fighter. Not to mention the fact that Klitschko would likely have a rematch clause put in his contract with Thompson, saying that he’d have to give him a rematch if he were somehow to beat him. This would lead to an even bigger delay for Povetkin in getting his shot at the IBF title.