By Allan Fox: WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO’s) was rumored to have lost a lot of weight in training for this Saturday’s fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KO’s) in Moscow, Russia, according to Fightnews.com.
If Povetkin really has lost a lot of weight in getting ready for this fight then we’ll see evidence of that late in the bout when Povetkin has to dig deep against a much bigger fighter. It’s going to be tough as it is for him to be able to take Wladimir deep into the fight because he’s going to be getting with so many big shots.
Povetkin is good at moving his head, but he’s not going to be able to avoid all of Wladimir’s big shots especially when he’s coming straight at him. There’s no real way of avoiding Wladimir’s straight right hand down the middle when you’re coming forward.
Povetkin looks like he’s in pretty good condition, but it’s difficult to tell right because he always seems to be huffing and puffing during his fights even when he’s facing someone that’s totally over-matched.
Povetkin is going to need to be in excellent shape for this fight, because he’s giving up at least 20 pounds in weight, 4 inches in height and 6 inches in reach to the 6’6” Wladimir. That’s a considerable amount of reach for a fighter to be giving up, especially one that doesn’t have a lot of hand speed or power.
Povetkin is going to have to find a way to smother Wladimir by getting inside to prevent him from extending on his shots from the outside. You can bet that Wladimir’s trainer Johnathan Banks is going to be telling him to make sure that he jabs a lot and ties up Povetkin every time he gets inside.
Povetkin will have to find a way to keep Wladimir from tying him up somehow and leaning on him with all of his 245 lbs. of weight. It’s easier said than done in trying to keep Wladimir from clinching, because he’s strong and difficult to break free from due to his power and weight.
Povetkin is at a real disadvantage in this fight due to his lack of experience fighting guys Wladimir’s size. Povetkin has obviously been sparring a lot of bigger guys during training camp, but no one with Wladimir’s kind of power and skills. It’s going to be really tough for Povetkin to solve this riddle because not in the same league as Wladimir in the power, size and speed department.
It means that he’s going to have to really push the fight to a pace that Wladimir can’t handle somehow. I don’t know if that’s possible without Povetkin running into a big shot from Wladimir.
Wladimir has faced guys that have pushed the pace with him in the past. Povetkin will have to really push the pace if he wants to have a chance of tiring out Wladimir to get the stoppage. It’s possible but not likely that Povetkin will be able to pull off the upset in this given his lack of size. He’s a heavyweight, but he’s more of a small one like David Haye. He’s not powerful and that’s a prerequisite to beating Wladimir. If you don’t have power like Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster and Ross Puritty, then you’re probably not going to do well against Wladimir.
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