Team Povetkin: Rahman is Still a Very Capable Fighter

By Luke Furman

Alexander Zimin, the new trainer for WBA "regular" champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16KOs), does not underestimate the current capabilities of former two-time WBC champion Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41KOs). The 39-year-old veteran is the mandatory challenger to Povetkin's championship. Their bout has a scheduled date of July 14 in Germany. 

Since getting stopped by unified champion Wladimir Klitschko in December of 2008, Rahman has won his last five fights and all of those opponents were knocked out in six rounds or less. Povetkin returns from a very difficult majority decision win over WBO cruiserweight king Marco Huck.

"Rahman, of course, is up in there in age, but he still has a hard punch. This is an experienced professional, capable of punishing anyone who underestimates him. In professional boxing, your entire career is on the line in every fight. Win, and you rise up. But if you lose a fight, you immediately go back down. And rising back to where you were, after suffering a loss, will be very difficult," Zimin said.
 
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.