By Ian S Palmer
Wladimir Klitschko will finally square off against undefeated Alexander Povetkin in a world heavyweight title fight as they’re set to meet in Moscow, Russia on Saturday, October 5. North American fans will be able to tune in live to HBO to see the action. The 33-year-old Povetkin feels he’s finally ready to take on the aging WBA/IBF/IBO and WBO Champion from Ukraine and he should give him a pretty good fight, especially since he’ll be boxing in front of his home fans.
Klitschko will climb through the ring ropes with a record of 60-3 along with 51 Kos to his credit while Povetkin comes into the bout with a perfect mark of 26-0 with 18 Kos. The challenger stands 6-foot-2 and has a 75-inch reach. Klitschko’s 37 years old now and has a four-inch height advantage at 6-foot-6 and his 81-inch reach gives him a six-inch advantage in that department.
Povetkin’s fought some decent boxers over the years, mainly in Europe, with the most recognizable names to North American boxing fans being Chris Byrd, Hasim Rahman and Eddie Chambers. He’s also beaten Ruslan Chagaev and won a narrow and controversial decision over Marco Huck. Povetkin’s a real contender, but he hasn’t taken on any elite, young heavyweights, mainly because there haven’t been too many of them around lately.
As you can see from his record, the Russian’s got some pretty good power in his fists and he’s going to need it to keep the champion off of him. He’s a typical European-style standup fighter and is more or less a boxer-puncher. He possesses good boxing skills and doesn’t rely on his power to end fights. He’s not very mobile in the ring, but his defensive skills aren’t too shabby.
All boxing fans are familiar with what Klitschko brings to the table. He takes advantage of his reach and height to keep his opponents at the desired distance with a stiff jab and then hammers them with his accurate power shots. He usually breaks them down in the second half of the bout and eventually stops them. If Povetkin does have a chance it could be because of Klitschko’s advanced age and the fact he hasn’t really been tested in several years now.
The champion’s still in great shape, is confident and has a lot of experience. However, nobody knows how his legs will react if he gets nailed on the chin by a power shot. In fact Klitschko himself doesn’t even know what will happen because it’s been so long since he’s been nailed square on the jaw. For Povetkin to be successful he’ll have to negate Klitschko’s piston-like jab. This is going to be difficult for somebody with the style of Povetkin.
This means Povetkin’s going to have to show the bigger man some good movement and that doesn’t come naturally to him. He’ll also have to be the aggressor to put the pressure on the champ. He can’t stand around and wait for Klitschko to initiate the action and then hope he can land the odd counter punch. He has to keep busy and make sure the champion doesn’t have time to rest.
Even though Povetkin’s a decent boxer, the only way really to beat Klitschko is to hurt him and then jump all over him for a stoppage. It’s doubtful that Povetkin is going to go into this fight looking for a knockout though. The Russian may do well defensively, but that’s not going to earn him a victory. He could very well go all 12 rounds and not get hurt, but he’s not going to outbox Klitschko. His only hope is to hurt him and while it’s certainly a possibility it’s not the likely outcome. Look for Klitschko to retain his belts by a somewhat close decision or late stoppage.
