Alexander Povetkin feels as invigorated in present day as when he first arrived on the title stage.

The longtime contender from Chekhov, Russia remains a viable player in the current heavyweight landscape even as his 41st birthday nears. Povetkin remains relevant enough to where his chances of an upset win are not at all discounted ahead of his showdown with Dillian Whyte—nine years his junior at 32—this weekend in Brentwood, Essex, England (Saturday, DAZN, 2:00pm ET).

“I actually never really think about my age,” Povetkin insisted during a Zoom conference call to promote his bout with Whyte (27-1, 18KOs). “It’s just a number to me. It’s nothing special for me. It’s an honor to still be on this stage, but it’s honestly nothing special, just a number.”

Povetkin (35-2-1, 24KOs) has hovered near the top of the heavyweight division for more than a decade, dating back to his 11th round stoppage of Chris Byrd in October 2007. The bout came as part of a four-man tournament to establish a mandatory challenger to Wladimir Klitschko, which Povetkin would claim following a 12-round decision over then unbeaten Eddie Chambers in January 2008.

It proved moot, as Povetkin would go on to challenge for and win a secondary title with another sanctioning body following a 12-round win over Ruslan Chagaev in August 2011. More than two years later would come his long-awaited crack at Klitschko, dropping a lopsided 12-round decision in October 2013 for his first career defeat.

The only other loss on Povetkin’s ledger also came in a title bid, suffering a 7th round stoppage at the hands of then-unbeaten and unified heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua. Their September 2018 bout was surprisingly competitive before Joshua surged ahead and closed the show. 

Povetkin is otherwise 8-0-1 in non-title fights over that period, often facing considerably younger opposition. New life was breathed into his career 11 months after the loss to Joshua, when he soundly outpointed title challenger Hughie Fury—16 years Povetkin’s junior—last August in London. A little more than three months later came a strong showing in a 12-round draw versus Michael Hunter, nine years younger than the Russian contender.

The secret to his success, he insists, has been preservation.

“The only thing that changed between 20 years ago and now is that I train more responsibly now,” notes Povetkin. “For the last few years, it’s harder work to look better against my opponents who are younger than me. In reality, not a lot of things have changed in preparation for fights.

“With the Michael Hunter, there were moments in the fight that I approached different. But as far as preparing for these fights it has been the same. The only thing I change is on fight night depending on the opponent and what he does.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox