Alexander Povetkin: record, next fight and profile →
In the opinion of former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, 39-year-old Alexander Povetkin should call it a day and retire from boxing. Last week, Povetkin was knocked out in seven rounds by the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO), International Boxing Organization (IBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua.
Anthony Joshua didn’t quite seem like himself throughout the week before his fight against Alexander Povetkin. According to promoter Eddie Hearn, the huge heavyweight champion had every reason to feel a bit off before beating Povetkin by seventh-round technical knockout at Wembley Stadium in London. Hearn told IFL TV during a post-fight interview that Joshua had a “horrific” training camp, during which he suffered undisclosed injuries, and battled the flu throughout fight week.
What fans take into a fight can color how they perceive the realities that unfold. Saturday’s heavyweight clash between titlist Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin was happening under an obvious cloud. The majority of boxing fans wanted to see Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder.
Although his organization was not involved in the fight, World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman was very proud of the performance of Alexander Povetkin of Russia. Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs), who is the mandatory challenger under the WBA and WBO, was knocked out in seven rounds by IBF, WBO, IBO, WBA world champion Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) on Saturday night, before a massive crowd at Wembley Stadium in London.
Anthony Joshua doesn’t deny that Alexander Povetkin can punch. The former WBA heavyweight champion clearly was dangerous during their title fight Saturday night in London. Joshua contends he wasn’t “hurt,” however, when Povetkin caught him with a three-punch combination that knocked Joshua off balance late in the first round.
Joshua, Povetkin Fight Photos Gallery - Unified WBA ’super', IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua retained his titles with a vicious seventh round knockout over mandatory WBA challenger Alexander Povetkin in front of another huge crowd at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Anthony Joshua delivered a devastating technical knockout in the seventh round to defeat Alexander Povetkin and retain his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight championship belts. Joshua improved his record to 22 fights unbeaten in his professional career by handing the 39-year-old Povetkin only his second defeat but his first by TKO.
Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin admitted that IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was the stronger fighter in their showdown on Saturday night at Wembley in London. Before a crowd of 80,000 fans, Povetkin was putting in a solid effort and landing more than a handful of punches of Joshua, who was bleeding from his nose and got rattled in the first round.
Working behind a steady jab (8 landed/24 thrown per round), Anthony Joshua found his range in round seven and closed the show by landing 11 of 17 power shots. Alexander Povetkin had a 43-37 edge in power landed before the end came. 43 of Povetkin's 47 landed punches were power shots. 29 of Joshua's 90 landed punches were body shots.
By Keith Idec - Alexander Povetkin was dangerous at times Saturday night, but Anthony Joshua ultimately did what he has done to all but one professional opponent. The hard-hitting British superstar dropped Povetkin twice in the seventh round and stopped him in the main event of a seven-bout card that dre...