By Charles Brun: Hughie Fury will (23-2, 13 KOs) will be in action this Saturday against Alexander Povetkin on the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell undercard at the O2 Arena in London, UK. The young 24-year-old Fury is taking a major career gamble against former WBA heavyweight champion Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs) in hopes of pulling off a big upset. ESPN+ will be showing the fights in the U.S.

It’s easy to understand why the 6’6″ Hughie is taking this huge gamble. If Hughie wins, the victory will put him in position to get a world title shot, and he can make big money. A loss doesn’t hurt Hughie that bad, because he’s young, and lacks experience. Hughie is in the same position Anthony Yarde was in last Saturday in challenging WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev for his title. Like Hughie, Yarde had no real experience coming into that fight, so when he lost, he didn’t take a huge hit.

Hughie says Povetkin fight is about timing

“It’s going to be an exciting night,” said Hughie. “You want to fight the best. I had a bit of bad luck in the Parker fight. This is the time to shine, and show people what I’m made of. Povetkin, there is nothing new of him. He’s got the same style. We know what we’re expecting. I want to fight the best and prove it,” said Hughie. “This is about timing. All those fights have put me in this time here. This is the next step to move forward, and get me to do the fights where I want to be. I want to be world champion,” said Fury.

Fighting the 39-year-old Povetkin at this point in his career gives Hughie his best shot at winning the contest, considering his advanced age. Although Povetkin has only lost two fights in the last six years of his career, he’s not as explosive now. Povetkin hasn’t looked like the same knockout threat that he once was in his last four fights. He got old all of sudden after his knockout win over Johann Duhaupas. Nevertheless, Povetkin still has his punching power, but he’s not as fast. But if Povetkin can land his shots on the chin of Hughie, he could knock him out. It won’t be easy for Povetkin to land, because Hughie has size, mobility, and he knows how to tie up his opponents.

Fury has knocked out his last two opponents in Samuel Peter and Chris Norrad. He’s punching with more authority now, and looking a lot better. The movement, and the clinching that Hughie does hasn’t helped him win over fans though.

This is my time now say Hughie Fury

“I’ve had it tough, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Fury. That’s the way I’m going forward. I do believe I won the Joseph Parker fight, but there were politics. In the Pulev fight, that was bad luck. I got cut in sparring, and that cut opened up in the second round. There was a bit of bad luck on the night. This is my time now. Whatever Povetkin brings, I’ll have answer for. I’ve been killing myself in the gym to prepare for this moment. I’m looking forward to do this,” said Hughie.

Hughie is correct that this is more or less the beginning of his prime, and he’s fighting s guy that is three past it. If Hughie can’t beat Povetkin right now, then it suggests that he’s not going to be able to beat the elite in the division. Hughie has already lost to Joseph Parker and Kubrat Pulev. Hughie didn’t own the loss to Parker, however, as he still claims that he deserved a victory. The boxing public saw it a decisive win for the New Zealand fighter. The judges had Parker winning 18-110, 118-110 and 114-114. Hughie didn’t Parker much credit for the great job he did. The complaining that Hughie did afterwards made him look like a poor sport, and it didn’t endear him to the fans.

Rounds banked ✔️@hughiefury firing on all cylinders 🧨 @peterfury #FuryPovetkin #LomaCampbell pic.twitter.com/8dR475KKKj

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 16, 2019

Hearn says Hughie can call out everybody in division with win over Povetkin

“This guy is prepared to go in and fight some of the very dangerous heavyweights in the world,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn about Hughie. “But if you’re going to take a risk, there has got to be a significant reward. The reward for this fight is huge. If Hughie beats Povetkin, not only does he take his profile to a place where it’s never been, but he can call out everybody in the division with a win like that,” said Hearn.

It’s going to require more than a victory over Povetkin for Hughie to get a world title fight, but he can certainly call out the top heavyweights. Hearn can match Hughie up with these heavyweights from his stable:

Filip Hrgovic
Oleksandr Usyk
Michael Hunter
Dillian Whyte
Dereck Chisora

A better match-up for Hughie would be for him to take on David Price, who looked great recently win over Dave Allen. Hearn probably won’t put Hughie in with any of the above mentioned heavyweights, because they’re dangerous. The 6’8″ Price would be an ideal opponent for Hughie to battle. Price won’t be an easy out for Hughie, because he’s looking rejuvenated now.