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Going into this past Saturday's fight I admittedly hadn't seen much of either Chambers nor Povetkin. I edged Chambers to beat Povetkin based on 2 very simple reasons. A.) He had had twice as many professional fights as his opponet Povetkin had and B.) I figured Povetkin was just another case of an over hyped prospect, and would be handed his first loss by the more experienced professional.
Also, Chambers being a Philadelphia fighter had something to do with it as well.
Anyway, my thoughts.
Eddie Chambers
I had only seen Chambers fight against Brock prior to this one. I figured with his wealth of experience and superior hand speed that he would easily outpoint Povetkin despite being the smaller man.
After the first four rounds I was beginning to look like a genius for having picked Chambers despite his being a clear underdog. For the first four rounds Povetkin hardly ever landed anything solid on Chambers thanks to Eddie's defensive shell. Chambers looked amazing with his quick counterpunching ability and managed to put a hell of a mouse under Povetkin's left eye.
Through round 6 I had Chambers up 4-2, then after round 6 it all went downhill. Much like against Brock Eddie began to focus more on covering up and les on throwing punches. By the time round 8 came around I knew Eddie had given up, he had a guy standing infront of him for 8 rounds begging to be countered and yet Eddie could never muster the courage.
Now I don't know if it was fear of Povetkin's power or what, but Eddie basically covered up his face and did next to nothing for 8 solid rounds, essentially giving away the fight. In the early rounds Chambers seemed to be the superior fighter and was easily winning on my scorecard 4-0 by the start of the 5th round.
I've come to the conclusion that Chambers is a fine example of the one thing you cannot train a fighter to have, and that's heart. You can train a guy how to punch properly, how to work the jab, avoid taking damage, etc... But the one thing you can't teach a guy to do is to want to win the fight, and Chambers looked to me as if he was merely content to have gone the distance and nothing more.
If only Eddie had the heart to let his punches go instead of cover up all night long he could've easily won it IMO.
Alexander Povetkin
I had only seen a few clips of Povetkin going into this fight, but the hype about him online was something fierce. In recent weeks I'd ever heard people say he could lay claim to Klitschko's crown in a short year or so. I went into this fight expecting to see an explosive dynamo with fierce punching power, what I got was something totally opposite.
In the early rounds it became clear to me Povetkin was outclassed by Chambers. I don't know if it was due to Eddie's awkward style or Povetkin being fairly "green" but he looked tense, unsure of himself, and unable to figure Eddie out.
The one thing I can say with certainly about Povetkin is this: The man is a workhorse, pure and simple. He fights 3 minutes of each and every round, throws a variety of punches from a variety of angles, and truly shows the judges and the fans that he's in the ring to fight....Unfortunately for him his opponet was unwilling to fight back, so it degenerated into a glorified sparring session.
I see promise and potential in Povetkin but now that he's up against the winner of Klitschko/Ibragimov (most of us think Wlad wins this one easily) cannot see Povetkind doing anything to Wladimir that would put his title in jeopardy. He's not as powerful, he's smaller, and his boxing skill is far outclassed by Klitschko's, I would give him a 10-1 chance of winning a fight against Klitschko.
Also, Chambers being a Philadelphia fighter had something to do with it as well.
Anyway, my thoughts.
Eddie Chambers
I had only seen Chambers fight against Brock prior to this one. I figured with his wealth of experience and superior hand speed that he would easily outpoint Povetkin despite being the smaller man.
After the first four rounds I was beginning to look like a genius for having picked Chambers despite his being a clear underdog. For the first four rounds Povetkin hardly ever landed anything solid on Chambers thanks to Eddie's defensive shell. Chambers looked amazing with his quick counterpunching ability and managed to put a hell of a mouse under Povetkin's left eye.
Through round 6 I had Chambers up 4-2, then after round 6 it all went downhill. Much like against Brock Eddie began to focus more on covering up and les on throwing punches. By the time round 8 came around I knew Eddie had given up, he had a guy standing infront of him for 8 rounds begging to be countered and yet Eddie could never muster the courage.
Now I don't know if it was fear of Povetkin's power or what, but Eddie basically covered up his face and did next to nothing for 8 solid rounds, essentially giving away the fight. In the early rounds Chambers seemed to be the superior fighter and was easily winning on my scorecard 4-0 by the start of the 5th round.
I've come to the conclusion that Chambers is a fine example of the one thing you cannot train a fighter to have, and that's heart. You can train a guy how to punch properly, how to work the jab, avoid taking damage, etc... But the one thing you can't teach a guy to do is to want to win the fight, and Chambers looked to me as if he was merely content to have gone the distance and nothing more.
If only Eddie had the heart to let his punches go instead of cover up all night long he could've easily won it IMO.
Alexander Povetkin
I had only seen a few clips of Povetkin going into this fight, but the hype about him online was something fierce. In recent weeks I'd ever heard people say he could lay claim to Klitschko's crown in a short year or so. I went into this fight expecting to see an explosive dynamo with fierce punching power, what I got was something totally opposite.
In the early rounds it became clear to me Povetkin was outclassed by Chambers. I don't know if it was due to Eddie's awkward style or Povetkin being fairly "green" but he looked tense, unsure of himself, and unable to figure Eddie out.
The one thing I can say with certainly about Povetkin is this: The man is a workhorse, pure and simple. He fights 3 minutes of each and every round, throws a variety of punches from a variety of angles, and truly shows the judges and the fans that he's in the ring to fight....Unfortunately for him his opponet was unwilling to fight back, so it degenerated into a glorified sparring session.
I see promise and potential in Povetkin but now that he's up against the winner of Klitschko/Ibragimov (most of us think Wlad wins this one easily) cannot see Povetkind doing anything to Wladimir that would put his title in jeopardy. He's not as powerful, he's smaller, and his boxing skill is far outclassed by Klitschko's, I would give him a 10-1 chance of winning a fight against Klitschko.
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