By Erik Schmidt: In a stay busy fight, IBF #1 heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs) fights Taurus Sykes (25-4-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round bout on July 19th at the Olimpyskiy Sports Palace, in Chekhov, Russia. This is a fight that isn’t expected to be a competitive one, nor is it planned on being one for that matter, as Povetkin, 28, is waiting around for a fight with IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, which if everything goes alright (Wladimir doesn’t lose to Thompson this Saturday), then we should be seeing Wladimir take on Povetkin sometime later on this year.
Sykes, 33, is mostly known for his losses to Samuel Peter (a 2nd round TKO), Derek Bryant (4th round TKO loss), and a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Hasim Rahman in his last fight in June 2007. He’s got overall skills, but doesn’t have the power or the size, at 6’2″ 238 lbs, to compete with the better heavyweights in the division. In terms of size, Sykes is roughly the same size as Povetkin, yet he doesn’t have nearly the same excellent work rate or the heavy hands that Povetkin possess.