By Sean Jones: Former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (35-2, 24 KOs) has turned his sights in the direction of lineal champion Tyson Fury after having beaten his nephew Hughie Fury (23-3, 13 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist Povetkin is “ready and interested” in fighting Tyson Fury next.
Povetkin, 39, was too powerful, too busy and too talented for the 24-year-old Hughie last night.
Tyson (28-0-1, 21 KOs) has a fight scheduled this month against Otto Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs) on September 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fury’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing said this week that Tyson won’t be fighting again in 2019 after Wallin fight.
I would like to fight @Tyson_Fury , he has been talking a lot, saying that I don’t want to fight him.
I am ready and interested in the fight! I hope we will meet in the ring in the next fight!@Ryabinskiy @VadimKTeam pic.twitter.com/s8hqySAbRU— World of Boxing Promotions (@worldofbox) August 31, 2019
Unfortunately for Povetkin, Fury won’t fight again until he faces WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in a rematch that’s tentatively scheduled for February 22 in Las Vegas. Wallin is viewed as a sure thing win for Fury, as was his opponent before that Tom Schwarz. Top Rank isn’t taking any chances with former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Fury. They’re not going to put him in with anyone that has a shot at beating him before the big money rematch with Wilder. That’s a fight where even if Fury loses, he’ll make get a massive payday. Wilder suggested on Saturday that Fury step aside so that he can face the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. winner.
Hughie Fury spoiled his chances of winning
The toughest thing that Povetkin had to deal with in beating Hughie was the spoiling. Throughout the fight, Hughie used the following spoiling tactics:
- clinching excessively
- Moving a lot
- Throwing rabbit punches
- Hitting on the break
It was a cat and mouse affair with Povetkin chasing Fury around the ring for 12 rounds in front of a bored looking audience. It made for poor television. It was especially frustrating because Fury’s trainer Peter Fury had talked beforehand about how he was to going to throw combinations. We didn’t see that from Hughie last night. He did briefly throw combinations at the start of round 12, but he then reverted to his spoiling tactics.
Hughie was attempting to get another world title shot. In 2017, Hughie lost to WBO champion Joseph Parker by a 12 round majority decision. It was the same type of performance from Hughie as we saw last night from him. He clinched a lot, moved frequently, and flicked a weak jab from the outside. The judges scored it wide for Parker 118-110, 118-110. One judge unbelievably had it a draw at 114-114.