By Alexey Sukachev (at the scales) and Andrey Bazdrev / Photo: Andrey Bazdrev
Maybe the best active Russian heavyweight Alexander “Russian Knight” Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) and his Nigerian counterpart Teke “African Prince” Oruh (14-2-1, 6 KOs) came face to face at the official weigh-in tonight at Olympiyskiy Palace of Sports in the nearby city of Chekhov, Moscow Region.
WBO #3, WBA #6 and WBC #9 Povetkin with a portrait of Russian Tsar Alexander III and patriotic chants “We are Russian” and “Everything for Russia” on his T-shirt tipped the scale at 227 and a half pounds. Oruh, who is best known for his win over notable heavyweight gatekeeper Jason Gavern but who as out of action for almost two years, weighed in at 265 lbs.
Povetkin’s old friend and rising cruiserweight terror Denis Lebedev, promoter Vladimir Hryunov, head coach Teddy Atlas and former head coach Valery Belov were all in attendance. Team Oruh was presented by a coach Tyrone Boone and manager Ivaylo Gotzev. Bulgarian combat sambo star Blagoy Ivanov (one of a very few persons to defeat Fedor Yemelyanenko) wasn’t in the hall but will reportedly visit the show tomorrow.
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The collision between Povetkin and Oruh will undoubtedly be the main and “almost the only” event of a short local fight night. Nevertheless, three more pairs were added into the mix. Super featherweights Pavel Malikov (3-0, 1 KO) and Bairam Mukhamedov (3-3, 1 KO) will clash against each other in an eight-rounder, while an opponent for super flyweight Nikolay Potapov (3-0, 3 KOs) is still to be defined. Another M M A bout will close this show as a walkout fight.
The entire show starts at 5 PM LT (GMT+3). Live telecast will be provided by Russia 2 channel starting at 7:15 PM.
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Some quotes from participants in regards to the upcoming fight and some other topics
Teddy Atlas – about Klitschko vs. Briggs: “The fight will last four rounds at best. Shannon Briggs is strong physically but he is weal psychologically. He has fast hands and he can punch hard but he doesn’t possess fighter’s mentality. Briggs caught a straw to receive a paycheck and to earn an amount of money. It occurs once every couple of years but the upcoming fight will prove that this strategy is wrong. He will not defeat Klitschko with such an approach”
Teddy Atlas – about Alexander Povetkin: “We are learning to use our jab more, not to stay straight in front of your opponents, to use angles and to be fully concentrated while on the defensive. Don’t forget that psychology is three quarters of boxing indeed. It is what makes a difference between good boxers and exceptional boxers. I had been training boxers for 35 years and then I chose to quit. Sometimes I recall reasons why I had left boxing. But now it’s much more positive. There’s something that brought me back to the Sweet Science and that is Sascha’s character and work ethics. Yeah, he has achieved a lot and he’s got a talent; but his outstanding personality and his character is the reason why I’m still in business. It was my teacher’s instinct which helped me on my way back and turned me back to boxing. My daughter also teased my memories by recalling my story with Michael Moorer. I saw what Povetkin can and I have got an inner belief in it after I saw Alexander’s character”.
Teke Oruh: “I’m ready for this challenge. This is a fascinating chance to strikethrough all my previous setbacks and to shout out loudly about my real ambitions. Loosing is not an option. I haven’t been boxing for two years and I’m definitely hungry right now. I was trying to work something out for myself, to find better promoters but I failed. I don’t want to be a loser and Saturday night will prove that I’m a winner”.
Tyrone Boone: “We have studied Povetkin tapes really careful and we pre-planned our training camp specifically for Alexander, so Teke is fully ready to upset a favorite. I have long history with Russians and it’s a successful story. I trained Corey “T-Rex” Sanders for his fight with Oleg Maskaev and you certainly remember which way it had ended (Maskaev lost via TKO 8)”
A video story of Oruh’s arrival to Moscow can be seen here in Russian.
