Klitschko vs. Povetkin

By Allan Fox: It’s been two and half weeks since former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18 KO’s) was beaten by IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision in Moscow, Russia, but Povetkin’s promoter Kalle Sauerland still isn’t happy with all the clinching and leaning that the 37-year-old Wladimir was permitted to get away with in the fight.

Sauerland feels that the referee Luis Pabon should have stepped in and given some warnings to Wladimir to keep him from grabbing so much in the fight. Sauerland filed a protest to the World Boxing Association about the referee.

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By Allan Fox: Former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18 KO’s) wants a second shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KO’s) to show him that he’s a better fighter than he showed last Saturday night in losing a 12 round unanimous decision in Moscow, Russia. Povetkin admits that he lost, but he still wants to face the 6’6″ Wladimir again if possible.

Povetkin said to the Voice of Russia “I’m not frightened and I’m going to to set my sights on meeting him again. I lost the battle, but I’ll win the war. Tactically, Wladimir beat me, but I definitely never gave up mentally or physically.”

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By Scott Gilfoid: Last Saturday’s fight between IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KO’s) and former WBA champ Alexander Povtkin (26-1, 18 KO’s) from Moscow, Russia was seen by 12 million viewers on RTL in Germany, according to Dan Rafael.

In other words, 15% of the population watched the fight. That’s an incredible number. If 15 percent of the fans in the U.S watched the Klitschko-Povetkin fight it would come out to 47 million viewers.

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By Bob Smith: I have been a big fan of Wladimir Klitschko for some time, and have defended him as being underrated, and claimed that this underrated status was due to ethnic or cultural bias or failure to acknowledge the dominance that the two Klitschko brothers have exercised over the heavyweight division for nearly 10 years.

But he becomes more difficult to defend after his win over WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin last Saturday night in Moscow, Russia. I can understand trying to take the crowd out of the fight, but I counted 36 clinches in the first three rounds, and after that the fight became too boring for even me to watch. I am aware that Klitschko has power and a good jab, but I don’t think that Povetkin, while a good fighter, is even near in quality to the fighters of the 1990s era – Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, George Foreman, and so on. I say this as a person who likes to watch boxing and has seen the bulk of the televised fights of both Klitschko brothers.

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By Rachel Aylett: Last night in Moscow, Russia, the heavyweight champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko, successfully defended his championship belts against one of his top contenders, home fighter Alexander Povetkin.

There was something different about this defense for Wladimir, in that his own promotional company was not in charge of running the show. Hence, he had to fight in a smaller ring than he would have liked, away from his adoring German fans, and had the bulk of the crowd against him. None of this made the slightest difference as Wlad dominated his opponent from first bell to last, further enhancing his claim to be one of the most dominant champions in history.

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By Scott Gilfoid: Wladimir Klitschko dominated Alexander Povetkin tonight in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision in Moscow, Russia, but this has got to be the worst performance of Wladimir’s career by far. I know that’s hard to say because he’s looked incredibly terrible in his defeats to Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, but tonight Wladimir took mediocrity to a whole new level by clinching his way to a 12 round unanimous decision over Povetkin.

Wladimir retained his IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles with the victory, but I think he may have lost a heck of a lot of fans with this awful performance.

Referee Luis Pabon really dropped the ball tonight by letting Wladimir hold Povetkin and pull down on his head for all he was worth for 12 rounds. Early on, Pabon should have given Wladimir a stern warning for his grabbing and shoving Povetkin because it constant.

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By Ciaran McKinney: Tonight in the heart of Moscow, thousands of fans were witness to an absolute demolition job from Wladimir Klitschko on the brave, but extremely limited Alexander Povetkin.  

A massive purse bid, the third largest in history and an inflated record boasted by the hometown hero had some boxing fans claiming that this could be it, the time had finally come for one half on the all conquering Ukrainian brothers. The fighters came to the fantastically kitted out Olypiskiy Arena ready for a war, but from the first bell, it was clear that any hope was false.

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