By Ian S Palmer
WBC Silver Heavyweight Titleholder Carlos Takam of Cameroon will be defending his belt against Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin in Moscow this Friday, October 24. Takam took the crown back in June when he beat 42-year-old American Tony Thompson by a unanimous decision in their bout in France, where he now fights out of. Povetkin is also a fringe titleholder as he stopped Manuel Charr of Germany in May by a seventh round KO for the WBC International Title.
The 33-year-old Takam enters the bout with an impressive record of 30-1-1 along with 23 Kos while the 35-year-old Povetkin climbs into the ring with a mark of 27-1 with 19 Kos to his name. While Takam has 32 pro fights to Povetkin’s 28, the Russian certainly has a lot more experience when it comes to title bouts and quality of opposition. Povetkin is a former WBA Champion and is still ranked number three in the world by the WBC and WBA. He’s hoping to get past Takam to earn himself at another world title shot.
Povetkin stands 6-feet-2-inches tall and usually weighs in around 225 Lbs while Takam typically fights at close to 260 lbs and is just half an inch taller. It’s hard to say if the weight advantage will help Takam, but it’s obvious from his record that he packs good power in his fists with 23 Kos in 30 wins. Povetkin has generally displayed a solid chin throughout his career though, so the weight difference could end up helping Takam absorb the Russian’s power shots.
Takam keeps busy each round and throws a lot of punches while Povetkin is typically more economical with his hands. Takam made Thompson fight him all three minutes of every round and that’s the perfect tactic against an ageing boxer. He’ll also try to outwork and pressure Povetkin on Saturday and that’s his best course of action. Takam’s only defeat came at the hands of Gregory Tony via an eight-round unanimous decision in 2009. He also fought to a 10-round draw with Mike Perez in January. Takam has beaten some name boxers since turning pro in 2005, such as Frans Botha and Michael Grant.
Povetkin can let his hands go if he has to, but he doesn’t usually take the initiative. Takam will force him to fight though and that’s probably a good thing for Povetkin since he won’t become lazy. Povetkin is also an intelligent boxer and has enough power to keep his opponents honest. He’s also a pretty good defensive fighter who can get out of the way of incoming shots. Povetkin’s only loss came to World Champion Wladimir Klitschko last October by unanimous decision. He’s beaten the likes of Hasim Rahman, Marco Huck, Ruslan Chagaev, Eddie Chambers, Chris Byrd, and Larry Donald since turning pro in 2005.
Prediction
This is a decent matchup between two experienced boxers with good power. Neither of them have been stopped so far, but that could all change on Friday. Takam arguably has more power than Povetkin, but that’s nullified by the Russian’s experience and ring smarts. Povetkin knows he has to beat Takam to get another title shot and since he’s fighting on his home turf he should be able to come out of this bout with a decision or late stoppage.
