Alexander Povetkin vs. David Haye: Official Poll

[paulf]

The poster who said Povetkin is missing some athleticism has a point. Haye's speed will probably frustrate Povetkin, who will end up charging in. Hopefully he's smart enough to try to save a good amount of energy until the later rounds due to Haye's stamina issue.

This is a pick 'em and I don't think i'll know who i'm rooting for until the bell sounds. I like both guys a lot. Let's hope this fight gets signed already.

[nomadman]

I voted Haye by KO.

Povetkin is just too easy to hit and doesn't possess the sort of one-hit KO punch or ludicrous resilience to trouble Haye. He's also far too predictable in his attacking pattern, and tends to smother his punches a lot on the inside. On the outside, his lack of handspeed, slowish feet and close to zero head movement means he'll be at a distinct disadvantage to the far quicker, heavier hitting and more intelligent Haye (I don't rate Haye's boxing skills that highly but he's quite a cunning operator, and knows when to throw when his opponent is off guard). Povetkin's also been fighting some absolutely dire opposition lately, and whilst Haye's is hardly any better, he's at least looked good in winning. The same can't be said of Povetkin. Povetkin looks quite tough in a John Ruiz kind of way, so he'll probably last until the later rounds before the ref or corner steps in, but even if Haye starts to gas I doubt he'd be in any position to turn things around in his favour. Also, if this fight is in England (very likely if it happens) then you can be sure the ref will let Haye get away with all sorts of illegal shots whilst chastising Povetkin at every opportunity. Chances of Povetkin winning are very slim IMO.

[Mikhnienko]

The poster who said Povetkin is missing some athleticism has a point. Haye's speed will probably frustrate Povetkin, who will end up charging in. Hopefully he's smart enough to try to save a good amount of energy until the later rounds due to Haye's stamina issue.

This is a pick 'em and I don't think i'll know who i'm rooting for until the bell sounds. I like both guys a lot. Let's hope this fight gets signed already.

I'v always rated Povetkin's handspeed as rather respectable. In addition to this he throws tight punches down the middle and is an exceptional combination puncher with a good variety of shots.

I think whatever handspeed advantage Haye has (which won't be as great as some are claiming) will be negated by the fact that Haye throws wide shots especially on power punches and Povetkin throws tight shots down the pipe. His uppercuts and hooks will be particularly useful against Haye imo.

Sasha's chin and whether or not he'll impliment his newfound head movement and footwork with any success are the largest unknown factors that will play the most important factor in the outcome imo.

to It's Ovah :

- Povetkin while not a big one punch hitter has more than enough power to *** Haye's world up

- I agree on your remark about the ref playing a big factor if it's in the UK. I'm quite interested to see how Sasha will deal with dirty tactics especially the rabbit punching. I hope he responds like a fighter and not some Ghandi loving pacifist.

[The Hammer]

So you rate Povetkin FAR LOWER than John Ruiz?

No. I think Povetkin would have at least 50-50 chance if he had a sane trainer.

But fighters who've been working with Teddy Atlas usually get KOed - he ruins their confidence.

Listen at the beginning of Part 1 to the conversation Lampley and Steward have about Teddy Atlas and the way he tears down his fighters:

[hweightblogger]

The poster who said Povetkin is missing some athleticism has a point.

He has only a point if he can prove that chubby heavyweights are worse than athletic heavyweights.

So far I have not seen any proof for that, only that they are slightly slower than athletic ones.

Aside from ATGs like Lennox (tall), Klitschkos (tall), Mike Tyson (freak of nature) and a few others chubby heavyweights (Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier) are nearly always better than athletic ones. They practically never gass, are very hard to KO and it's usually the chubbies who cause more trouble than the athleties: It was chubby Sanders, chubby Byrd, chubby Sam Peter, chubby Valuev, chubby Ruiz who caused more trouble than ripped Sosnowski, athletic Eliseo Castillo, athletic Herbie Hide or athletic Audley Harrison.

Now, Haye may still win but in my view chubby Povetkin has bigger chances than ripped Povetkin.

That athleties are better heavyweights than chubbies is nothing but a myth based on the Rocky movies and superheroes (Batman, Hulk etc).

Ken Norton is the prime example of a ripped heavyweight, but he's also the prime example of FAILURE when meeting harder punchers: KO1 (Cooney), KO1 (Shavers), KO2 (Foreman). Had Norton been chubby he might have survived.

[nomadman]

I'v always rated Povetkin's handspeed as rather respectable. In addition to this he throws tight punches down the middle and is an exceptional combination puncher with a good variety of shots.

I think whatever handspeed advantage Haye has (which won't be as great as some are claiming) will be negated by the fact that Haye throws wide shots especially on power punches and Povetkin throws tight shots down the pipe. His uppercuts and hooks will be particularly useful against Haye imo.

Sasha's chin and whether or not he'll impliment his newfound head movement and footwork with any success are the largest unknown factors that will play the most important factor in the outcome imo.

to It's Ovah :

- Povetkin while not a big one punch hitter has more than enough power to *** Haye's world up

- I agree on your remark about the ref playing a big factor if it's in the UK. I'm quite interested to see how Sasha will deal with dirty tactics especially the rabbit punching. I hope he responds like a fighter and not some Ghandi loving pacifist.

His handspeed isn't terrible, it's a little above average, much like all of Povetkin's attributes. He really possesses no real outstanding quality, to my mind, just solid fundamentals put together well. His combinations aren't bad when he can get them going, I'll grant you that, and he has a nifty left hand that he can throw multiple punches off with some power and proficiency. Trouble is he takes quite a few rounds to get warmed up, and usually eats big right hands before that happens. He's also far too easy to smother and clinch up, which is where his tight punches would be most effective.

You can bet Haye will have noted all these things if they ever fight and will plan his strategy accordingly. My guess is he'll stay well on the outside, feinting, twitching, moving from side to side etc, then explode in with big one twos when he sees an opening, then back out, rinse and repeat. Haye's shots may get wide when he gets overexcited or sees his man hurt but when he pays attention to his form and makes a concerted effort to pick his shots he's not nearly as sloppy as all that. In the clinch he'll be clubbing Povetkin with rabbit punches, and probably trying to wrestle him (though Povetkin's quite solid in that regard and Haye might find himself getting a little manhandled here).

If Povetkin can drag Haye into the deeper waters of the later rounds then his crisp punches might start to catch Haye if he can get them off, but my guess is by that stage he'll be so ****** up and damaged that he'll be little more than a punching bag. His newfound headmovement is a sham, IMO, and won't play a factor here.

Most likely this resembles a slightly more competitive version of the Ruiz fight, with Povetkin stopped late on his feet after Haye turns his face to raw hamburger. I'm not the biggest Haye fan in the world (to put it mildly) but I'd be willing to put real money on a Haye victory as I feel that at this point Povetkin is ripe for the plucking.

[Clint650]

i still stick by my prediction that Haye knocks Wlad out if the fight happens.

[nomadman]

He has only a point if he can prove that chubby heavyweights are worse than athletic heavyweights.

So far I have not seen any proof for that, only that they are slightly slower than athletic ones.

Aside from ATGs like Lennox (tall), Klitschkos (tall), Mike Tyson (freak of nature) and a few others chubby heavyweights (Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier) are nearly always better than athletic ones. They practically never gass, are very hard to KO and it's usually the chubbies who cause more trouble than the athleties: It was chubby Sanders, chubby Byrd, chubby Sam Peter, chubby Valuev, chubby Ruiz who caused more trouble than ripped Sosnowski, athletic Eliseo Castillo, athletic Herbie Hide or athletic Audley Harrison.

Now, Haye may still win but in my view chubby Povetkin has bigger chances than ripped Povetkin.

That athleties are better heavyweights than chubbies is nothing but a myth based on the Rocky movies and superheroes (Batman, Hulk etc).

Ken Norton is the prime example of a ripped heavyweight, but he's also the prime example of FAILURE when meeting harder punchers: KO1 (Cooney), KO1 (Shavers), KO2 (Foreman). Had Norton been chubby he might have survived.

I can't speak for the poster you quoted but I personally have never judged a fighter's athleticism on his appearance. Sosnowski lacks athleticism and is about as ripped as a fighter can get. Chambers is very athletic and pretty soft looking even at 208lbs. Povetkin simply lacks the speed, power, reflexes etc of guys like Haye, Chambers, Wlad etc and whilst he has good stamina (which is also an athletic attribute) he's got as far as he's got based on skills, toughness and carefully picked opponents, and even against some of those he's struggled.

[nomadman]

i still stick by my prediction that Haye knocks Wlad out if the fight happens.

Wladimir Povetkin?

[£-4-£]

Haye by TKO, round 7