Povetkin destroys Rahman; Pulev KOs Ustinov; Culcay destroys Thompson

Image: Povetkin destroys Rahman; Pulev KOs Ustinov; Culcay destroys ThompsonBy Jim Dower: WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (25-0, 17 KO’s) easily took care of 39-year-old Hasim Rahman (50-8-2, 41 KO’s) in the 2nd round TKO tonight at the Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany. Povetkin hurt Rahman badly with a left hook to the head in the 2nd and then flurried on him until referee Gustavo Padilla stepped in and stopped the fight at 1:46 of the round.

This fight really made the World Boxing Association look bad for their decision to rank Rahman as #1 WBA contender for Povetkin off of a handful of wins over poor 3rd tier heavyweights. Rahman did not belong in the same ring with Povetkin and we saw that clearly in the 1st round when Povetkin staggered Rahman with a right hand to the head. It looked like Povetkin could have finished Rahman off right then and there, but he held back and fought cautiously for the remainder of the round. I think Povetkin could have easily have stopped Rahman in the 1st if he applied himself because Rahman was there for the taking and looked unsteady.

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Rahman-Povetkin & Pulev-Ustinov tonight in Germany

Image: Rahman-Povetkin & Pulev-Ustinov tonight in GermanyBy Jason Kim: Tonight, unbeaten and untested WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KO’s) defends his title against former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KO’s) at the Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, in Hamburg, Germany. On the undercard, heavyweights Alexander Ustinov (27-0, 21 KO’s) battles EBU heavyweight champion Kubrat Pulev (16-0, 8 KO’s) for his European Boxing Union title in an IBF heavyweight eliminator bout with the winner becoming the mandatory contender to IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Rahman, 39, feels like he’s got enough left in the tank to pull of a knockout victory over Povetkin. However, it doesn’t look likely that Rahman will be able to do this because it’s been so many years since he beat his last quality opponent. He’s ranked #1 by the WBA, but he’s not stayed relevant by facing the best heavyweights since losing to Wladimir in a failed title shot in 2008. The sad part about the sanctioning bodies is that guys like Rahman are often pushed to the very top of the division despite having facing nothing but poor opposition in the last four years.

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Rahman vs. Povetkin & Pulev vs. Ustinov: Two good heavyweight fights tomorrow

Image: Rahman vs. Povetkin & Pulev vs. Ustinov: Two good heavyweight fights tomorrow(Picture: Photo Wende) By Jason Kim: On Saturday night in Germany, WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KO’s) defends his title against Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KO’s) in a potentially interesting fight matching mediocre heavyweight champion in the 33-year-old Povetkin facing the 39-year-old past his best Rahman.

At Friday’s weigh-in, both Rahman and Povetkin looked kind of chubby with Povetkin weighing in at 229 pounds, two pounds heavier than he was for his last fight agaisnt Marco Huck last February. Povetkin really gassed out in that fight due to the excess weight he was carrying around. Povetkin was supposedly working on his weight to trim it down some so that he’d not gasp for oxygen nonstop, but I’m not sure what happened to him. Povetkin looks like he’s been training on three giant helpings of spaghetti and meatballs daily instead of trimming down for this fight.

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Pulev faces Ustinov; Rahman takes on Povetkin on Saturday

By Jim Dower: A pair of unbeaten European heavyweights will square off on Saturday night in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator bout for the #1 spot between unbeaten Alexander Ustinov (27-0, 21 KO’s) and ex-Olympian from the 2008 Olympics Kubrat Pulev (16-0, 8 KO’s) at the Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, in Hamburg, Germany. The Pulev-Ustinov fight will be the co-main event on the undercard of the heavyweight clash between WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin vs. Hasim Rahman. Also on the card will be light middleweight Jack Culcay facing Mark Thompson.

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Rahman-Povetkin, Pulev-Ustinov on September 29th

Image: Rahman-Povetkin, Pulev-Ustinov on September 29th(Picture: Photo Wende) By Sean McDaniel: 39-year-old #1 WBA Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KO’s) will be challenging for the title against WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KO’s) on September 29th in Hamburg, Germany. On the undercard will be heavyweight contenders Kubrat Pulev (16-0, 8 KO’s) facing unbeaten Alexander Ustinov (27-0, 21 KO’s) in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight title eliminator bout. The winner of the fight will become IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s mandatory challenger.

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Ustinov stops Gavern, fails to impress

Image: Ustinov stops Gavern, fails to impressBy Jason Kim: Undefeated heavyweight contender Alexander Ustinov (27-0, 21 KO’s) defeated American journeyman Jason Gavern (21-1-4, 10 KO’s) by an ugly clinch-filled 7th round TKO win on Thursday night to capture the vacant International Boxing Organization Inter-Continental heavyweight title at the Sports Palace in Kharkov, Ukraine.

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Ustinov vs. Gavern for vacant IBO Inter-Continental title on April 26th

By Jason Kim: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Alexander Ustinov (26-0, 20 KO’s) will be mixing it up with journeyman Jason Gavern (21-9-4, 10 KO’s) on April 26th in a fight for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental title at the Sportpalace in Kharkov, Ukraine. Ustinov, #3 WBA, #5 WBO, #12 IBF, is hoping to pick up this lower belt and then move to a title shot.

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Afolabi defeats Brudov; Ustinov stops Manswell

Image: Afolabi defeats Brudov; Ustinov stops ManswellBy Jim Dower: No.1 WBO contender Ola Afolabi (19-2-3, 9 KO’s) overpowered #8 WBO contender Valery Brudov (39-4, 28 KO’s) by a 5th round TKO on Saturday night to capture the interim WBO cruiserweight title at the ESPRIT arena, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

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Ustinov defeats Bakhtov, fails to impress

Image: Ustinov defeats Bakhtov, fails to impressBy Sean McDaniel: EBA heavyweight champion Alexander Ustinov (25-0, 19 KO’s) defeated 31-year-old challenger Denis Bakhtov (33-7, 23 KO’s) by an unimpressive 12 round unanimous decision on Friday night at the Budivelnik, in Cherkasy, Ukraine. The final judge’s scores were 117-111, 118-110 and 118-110.

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