Kubrat Pulev

By 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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By 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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(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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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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(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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