By Ruslan Chikov
Trainer Teddy Atlas, who works with undefeated Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin, says the former Olympic gold medal winner will be very active in the next couple of months. Povetkin was scheduled to fight WBO/IBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko earlier this month. He was replaced by Samuel Peter after Atlas advised Poevtkin to withdraw from the contest to gain more experience.
The IBF was very upset that Povetkin withdrew and took away his mandatory status. They knocked him out of the top ten. Atlas is not concerned with Povetkin's rank. He is more concerned with Povetkin being physically and mentally prepared for a Klitschko. Atlas plans to have him fighting often and has scheduled three back to back fights in a three month span.
"In 10 years, nobody will remember what place you had in the rankings. Only the champions remain in history, and our goal - is to win avchampionship. And to achieve that, Sasha needed to have more fights. He only has 19 fights and that's not a lot. At the same time, Wladimir Klitschko won the title in his 36th fight. But before he won a title, he lost to Ross Puritty," Atlas was quoted by Golzka.
"A person in any profession needs to have consistant practice. If a doctor didn't conduct an operation for two years, I think he would be very nervous when he had to operate. It's like an inexperienced lawyer, he's going to have a small chance of winning against his more experienced colleagues in a court room. And it's the same in boxing."
"Therefore, in the near future we intend to fight very often. Sasha needs to gain experience and confidence that comes with it. We want him to fight nearly every month. I can name the dates, October 30, December 4 and January 15. Some of the opponents will be ranked in the top-fifteen."
