By Allan Fox: Teddy Atlas of ESPN is giving WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO’s) a good shot of pulling off an upset against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KO’s) in their fight on in Moscow Russia at the Olimpiyskiy on October 5th.
Atlas trained Povetkin up until recently and knows what he’s capable of going in the ring after seeing for himself. Atlas has given Povetkin advice in how to beat Klitschko, and he feels that if Povetkin will follow the advice then me can win.
Atlas said to RingTV “I gave him a good fight plan for Klitschko…I knew with a bit more experience, he could be ready for the fight, and I think that time is now. I give him a good shot to win.”
Povetkin has knocked out his last two opponents Hasim Rahman and Andrzej Wawrzyk recently and looked good. Povetkin didn’t look very good last year in beating Marco Huck by a 12 round majority decision last year in February.
Povetkin gassed out from the pressure that Huck put on him, and he was huffing and puffing in most of the later rounds of the fight. After the fight was over, Povetkin could hardly be interviewed because he was gasping for breath for a time.
Huck hurt Povetkin several times in the fight with hard right hands to the head. To his credit, Povetkin was able to outwork Huck and get the decision despite being hurt and tired.
Atlas will have to have come up with the perfect strategy if Povetkin is going to have any chance of winning this fight because it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be able to defeat the much taller, faster and stronger Wladimir. Povetkin doesn’t match up with Wladimir in any department.
It’s like a fight between a good heavyweight and a very good super heavyweight. Wladimir should be able to beat Povetkin based on his superior size and power. For Povetkin to win, he’s going to have to try and pressure Wladimir the same way that Lamon Brewster and Ross Puritty did in wearing him out and getting stoppage victories. The problem is Povetkin isn’t as big as those guys and he doesn’t punch with the same kind of power.
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