News
Povetkin-Dimitrenko purse bid
called off
Team Sauerland had to pull
out of the EBU´s
purse bid for the
Povetkin-Dimitrenko bout due to a scheduling conflict.
With no free TV
slot available on Germany´s ARD network prior
to the summer break,
Sauerland decided not to bid for the heavyweight
fight. European
cruiserweight champion Marco Huck and WBA heavyweight
champion Nikolai
Valuev will fight in May before IBF middleweight
champion King Arthur
Abraham will return to the ring
in June. “The EBU
rulebook dictates that
a fight has to take place within 60 days following
the purse bid,”
Sauerland Event General Manager Chris Meyer stated. “Unfortunately,
our
TV schedule is already full. That is why we had no
opportunity to stage
this bout. And to let Alexander
fight on a Universum card was no option at all.”
Meyer left the door open on a potential meeting at
some point in the
future. He added: “Instead of waiting until
August, we would like to
give Dimitrenko the chance to fight for the vacant
title now. Povetkin
can still beat him in a couple of months.”
Povetkin (17-0, 12 KOs) made a successful return on April
4 when he
defeated Jason Estrada in Dusseldorf to remain the
IBF´s
mandatory
challenger. He was set to take on heavyweight champion
Wladimir
Klitschko in December 2008 before an ankle injury
forced the 2004
Olympic gold medal winner to postpone the showdown.
The 17th victory in
as many fights has put him back on track. “The
win over Estrada was a
step into the right direction,” Povetkin said. “I
am back.”
Povetkin warms up for Klitschko
showdown with April 4 fight against Estrada
Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs), mandatory challenger
of IBF
heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, will take
a final warm-up fight
on April 4 when he faces Jason Estrada (15-1, 3 KOs)
in Dusseldorf. The
29-year-old was scheduled to fight Klitschko in December
2008 but an
ankle injury forced him to postpone the hotly anticipated
showdown. The
IBF ruled that their meeting has to take place before
September 13,
2009. “This time frame allows us to give Alexander
a tough fight so that
he can keep his rhythm,” Sauerland Event general
manager Chris Meyer
said. “By picking Jason Estrada we have chosen
a strong opponent. But
that is exactly what Alexander had asked us to do because
easy fights do
not help him at all.”
The White Lion, who is unbeaten in 16 fights, is widely
considered the
favourite to end the Klitschkos´ heavyweight
hegemony. A former European
and World Amateur Champion as well as an Olympic gold
medal winner,
Povetkin is determined to continue his winning streak
as a professional.
“ I am very happy that I have recovered from my injury.
I look forward to
returning to the ring in April,” he stated. “I
take the fight against
Jason Estrada very seriously because there is a lot
at stake. But I will
win this fight and I will show that I am ready for
Klitschko.”
Povetkin earned the right to challenge the IBF heavyweight
champion by
winning a four-way elimination tournament in which
he defeated Chris
Byrd and Eddie Chambers. Together with Valeri Belov,
he is preparing in
Russia. “I will be in top shape on April 4,” he
stated.
------------------------------------------
Povetkin the favourite with 41,4 % of the votes
Alexander Povetkin is the leading candidate to dethrone
the Klitschkos,
according to the supermediapress poll. 41,4 percent of
the voters (4865
in total) favoured the 29-year-old Olympic champion (Sauerland
Event GmbH) in
our survey from last week. The subscribers of superpressmedia
(journalists, coaches and sports fans), voted Uzbekistan’s
Ruslan
Chagaev (30, Universum Box Promotion) into the second
spot, with David Haye (28, 11 %)
finishing third. Others receiving votes were Nikolai
Valuev (9,9 %),
Juan Carlos Gomez (6,5 %), Alexander Dimitrenko (5,1
%), Samuel Peter
(3,6 %), Oleg Maskaev (2,5 %) and Chris Arreola (2,1
%).
------------------------------------------
Who can beat the Klitschkos?
Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are topping the current
list of heayvweight boxers. Who can threaten their hegemony?
There has been much discussion about it, with TV shows,
newspapers and magazines all pondering this question.
Wladimir Klitshcko (32) holds the IBF, WBO and IBO titles.
In 2008 neither Sultan Ibragimov, Tony Thompson nor Hasim
Rahman could pose a threat to him.
Wladimir Klitschko (37) embarrassed Samuel Peter in his
last fight. He will fight Juan Carlos Gomez (35/Cuba)
next. Gomez is a former stablemate of Dr. Ironfist and
has shown much improvement in his last fights. Can he
give the Klitschkos worries?
Wladimir Klitschko has to fight Russian Olympic gold
medallist Alexander Povetkin (29) this year. The IBF´s
top-ranked challenger, who has won all of his fights
as a professional, boasts tremendous punching power.
Before their meeting England´s David Haye (28)
wants to dethrone the Klitschkos. He is a former cruiserweight
champion and known for his provocative statements outside
the ring.
Maybe the WBA´s top fighters, the Russian Giant
Nikolai Valuev (35, 2.17 metres) or Uzbekistan’s
Ruslan Chagaev (30) can keep the Klitschkos from winning
all heavyweight belts?
Also waiting for his chance is Alexander Dimitrenko (26,
Universum), who is ranked highly in almost all ratings.
(WBO 1, IBF/WBC 3 and WBA 4).
Oleg Maskaev (39/Russia) is still waiting for his justified
chance to fight for the WBC title against Vitali Klitschko.
There is also hope in the US – namely up-and-coming
heavyweight Chris Arreola (27), who has won 26 fights
(23 KOs). He is the number 2 of the WBC and IBF.
Please select your favourite Name:
Arreola
Chagaev
Dimitrenko
Gomez
Haye
Maskaev
Peter
Povetkin
Valuev
------------------------------------------
Povetkin injured
A council of physicians under the rule of Dr. Sergey
Vasilyevich Arkhipov,
an official medical representative of the Russian
Olympic Committee and one
of the most well-known Russian traumotologists, was
called today to
precisely diagnose IBF heavyweight mandatory challenger
Alexander Povetkin
after he has suffered a left-foot injury during the
training session this
weekend. Fightnews.com has contacted Povetkin¹s
manager Vladimir Hrunov to
know more about Alexander¹s injury and other
recent news.
³Sasha has suffered an injury while running in the woods near his hometown
of Kursk. He tripped over tree root and that was it. He was immediately
taken to local traumotologists who conducted an MRI to know more about this
injury. Right now we have already got a roentgenogram and Dr. Arkhipov has
voiced his diagnosis. We are sending copies to the Professional Boxing
Federation of Russia and to the International Boxing Federation to comply
with all of the official procedures,² said Hrunov. He denied a claim by
some
Russian sports media who have quoted Alexander¹s father saying an injury
had
been suffered ten days before. ³This is incorrect information due to an
accidental misinterpretation of Team Povetkin¹s recent statements by one
of
the reporters.²
Alexander¹s manager also confirmed that the first
ever Russian Olympic super
heavyweight gold medalist would start his preparation
once again in
approximately a month. ³Sasha will be back into
training sessions by the end
of November.² And what is about his previously
scheduled collision with the
unified IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko
of Ukraine,
which had been set on Dec. 13 in Germany prior to Povetkin¹s trauma? ³This
diagnosis makes Alexander¹s fight with Klitschko
completely impossible till
the end of the year,² commented Hrunov. ³We
shall be able to move on with
the bout as soon as Sasha is one hundred percent healthy.
I think spring of
2009 is a most reliable period of time for this fight
to be set and fought.
However, I can¹t tell you any exact dates or venues.
All our hopes and
thoughts are about Sasha right now and we shall conduct
negotiations with
Team Klitschko a bit later.²
According to widespread rumors in the Russian press,
Povetkin¹s contract
with the Sauerland Event expires on Jan. 1, 2009, and
Russian fighter will
be a promotional free agent after that. Given this,
Povetkin and his
advisors would have a chance to omit paying Sauerland Event its share of
fees, had his battle with Klitschko been rescheduled till the next year.
Vladimir Hrunov has explicitly denied these rumors and their sources.
³That¹s a LIE and spreading it around the media is a pre-planned activity
of
those who want to spoil our steady and healthy relationship with Sauerland
Event,² he said to Fightnews. ³Immediately after we had informed
our German
partners about this injury, Mr. Wilfried Sauerland himself has phoned Sasha
to address him with all the warm words and wishes in the world. He said
nothing about money or any financial conditions and he talked to Alexander
as if he was his own son. I want to emphasize that we have no problems
between Team Povetkin and Sauerland Event; nothing but a mutual partnership
which greatly benefits each party. Speaking about the contract, it expires
in 2012, not in 2009. We are considering some legal actions against several
certain reporters who have deliberately reported false info.²
------------------------------------------
***Povetkin ready for Klitschko after stopping Sykes***
Alexander Povetkin warmed up for Wladimir Klitschko with
a fourth-round
KO victory over Taurus Sykes. Fighting in front of 4,000
enthusiastic
fans in his home city of Chekhov, the 28-year-old Russian
dominated from
the first bell on and left his American opponent without
a chance.
Photo:
Sumio Yamada
Povetkin´s huge right kept finding its target, and
in the second round
Sykes was already in the ropes. The White Lion kept up
the pressure in
the third as Sykes went down, but no knock-downs were
ruled. Sykes
looked intimidated, though, and it was not long until
he was in for
further punishment. Povetkin floored his opponent with
a right to the
head early in the fourth for the referee to count the
33-year-old out.
Povetkin, who defeated Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in
a four-way
elimination tournament to become the IBF´s mandatory
challenger, can´t
wait to get in the ring with Klitschko. “The whole
world wants to see
this fight,” Povetkin said at the post-fight press
conference. “First of
all, the negotiations need to be completed, and when everything
is in
place, I want to fight him. I would be very disappointed
if Klitschko
ducked out.”
Povetkin celebrated his 16th win in as many fights (12
KOs), handing
Sykes the fifth defeat of his career (25-5, 7 KOs).
-------
***Povetkin: “A victory
over Sykes is all that matters to me now”***
Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs) claimed he is taking
one step at a
time ahead of this weekend´s fight against Taurus
Sykes. The 2004
Olympic gold medal winner faces “The Bull”
in his home city of Chekhov,
Russia on Saturday night. If Povetkin defeats his American
opponent, he
will be in for a showdown with IBF/WBO heavyweight champion
Wladimir
Klitschko. Povetkin became the IBF´s mandatory challenger
in January
after defeating Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in a four-way
elimination
tournament. However, right now his full focus is on Saturday´s
meeting
with Sykes. “There is a lot at stake for me,”
Povetkin said at today´s
press conference at the ITAR-TASS offices in Moscow. “I
need to win to
get the Klitschko fight. And I will allow nobody to take
that away from
me. A victory over Sykes is all that matters to me now.”
Povetkin revealed how much he is looking forward to the
appearance in
front of his home fans in Chekhov. “The whole preparation
here has been
a lot of fun. It is great to fight in front of my local
fans in the
Olympic Sports Palace. Fighting here is like a dream coming
true for me.”
The White Lion stated he will not take Sykes lightly.
“I watched the
tape of Sykes´ fight against Hasim Rahman,”
he said. “He is a tough
opponent and very uncomfortable to box.” Sykes (25-4,
7 KOs) is eager to
make something happen himself. “I am happy to be
here,” he stated. “But
I am not just filling the void ahead of the Klitschko
fight. I came here
to win. And I am very confident I will do just that.”
-------
Wladimir Klitschko has to fight Alexander Povetkin until
November 2008. Otherwise he will lose his IBF belt.
