Povetkin on Shannon Briggs Tactics, Freddie Roach's Take

By Yuri Tarantin

Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin (27-1, 19KOs), who faces Carlos Takam (30-1, 23KOs) on October 24th in Moscow, discussed a number of topics.

Povetkin got his career in order back in May, with a seventh round knockout over the durable Manuel Charr.

Last October Povetkin was dropped four times and lost a twelve round decision to heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko.

For several months, former champion Shannon Briggs has been stalking Wladimir and causing near violent confrontations.

"For us, the Russian people, this is unacceptable. In fact, Briggs is a strong fighter. And everything he does, it's nothing more than to show that he needs to increase his popularity, nothing more than that," Povetkin said.

In a recent interview, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach stated that he could have helped Povetkin defeat Klitschko last year. Roach was considered for the head trainer position, but he turned down the offer, because he already accepted a deal to train Miguel Cotto for a fight that was scheduled on the same day in Florida.

Roach felt Povetkin used the wrong tactics. Povetkin is making no excuses.

"It is difficult to say anything [in response to that]. More than likely, at that time [of the fight], Klitschko had a stronger strategy in place. That's why he won the fight," Povetkin said.

Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru