LONDON -- There are only two heavyweights in boxing who currently hold world titles. Deontay Wilder holds the WBC strap and Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) holds all the others. On Sept. 22 Joshua will put his IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titles on the line against the dangerous Alexander Povetkin (34-1, 24 KOs). The fight will stream live on DAZN with Joshua being one of the premier fighters aligned with streaming service.
Joshua is an orthodox fighter with a massize physique. He stands at 6-feet, 6-inches tall and has a reach of 82-inches. At just 28 years old he is solidly in his prime and he looks like he spends his free time competing as a bodybuilder. Joshua has a stiff jab that really helps set up the rest of his offense. He has a strong right hand he can do damage with and when he gets in the pocket he can really be dangerous with his right-handed uppercut. However, his best punch is his left hook and that punch can end a fight at any moment. Joshua is much more talented offensively than he is defensively. He isn't exactly hard to hit and although he usually shows a pretty good chin, he was dropped by Wladimir Klitschko and buzzed by Dillian Whyte and Povetkin is certainly a big puncher.
In the U.K. Joshua is already a star, regularly selling out stadiums. Since he is such a star he hasn't felt the need to step in the ring with the other man who can lay claim to being the best heavyweight in boxing, Wilder. Povetkin is a top five heavyweight though and should be a good test for Joshua. He already has some impressive wins on his resume, including a stoppage of Klitschko, a wide decision win over Joseph Parker, and a stoppage of Whyte. Joshua has also handed two American fighters, Dominic Breazeale and Charles Martin, their first career losses. Now he will set his sights on Povetkin and look to hand him his second career loss.
Compared to Joshua who is still in his prime, Povetkin is ancient at the age of 39. The Russian pugilist fights out of the orthodox stance and has good power. He will be giving up a significant height and reach advantage to Joshua though. Against taller fighters Povetkin will try to jab the body but doesn't make much use of that punch. He really just flashes the jab to get his opponent to bite so he can swing away with an overhand right that is very dangerous. Povetkin carries serious knockout power in both hands and has also put plenty of opponents down with his left hook. While he has never been knocked out he has been dropped numerous times and will need to fight intelligently against a puncher like Joshua.
Povetkin began his professional career in 2005 and has plenty of notable heavyweights on his resume. While he has never beaten the elite, he does have wins over Chris Byrd, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Marco Huck, Hasim Rahman, Mike Perez, and most recently David Price, among many others. The biggest fight of his career came in 2013 when he challenged Klitschko for his IBF, WBA, and WBO titles but he lost a wide decision and was dropped multiple times. As good as Povetkin has been, his career has been tainted by multiple suspensions for banned substances. Those suspensions tanked fights with Wilder and Bermane Stiverne and really cast a negative shadow over the legitimacy of Povetkin's career.
This fight is a dangerous one for Joshua. Povetkin is a serious threat to his titles but doesn't bring that much fanfare to the fight. Since Povetkin is the smaller man expect to see him try and make this an inside fight. He won't be able to do much damage from the outside so he will need to get in the pocket, attack the body, and look to catch Joshua with an overhand right. If Joshua fights intelligently this will be an easier fight for him than it will be for Povetkin. Povetkin will have to be brave and eat a few punches to get inside. Meanwhile, with his height and reach advantage, Joshua will be able to stay on the outside where he can control the smaller fighter with his jab and wait for his opportunities to land his power punches. Whoever controls the distance in this fight should also control the outcome.
PREDICTION: Alexander Povetkin is a good fighter with heavy hands and he is certainly a dangerous opponent for Anthony Joshua. However, his size disadvantage will be his downfall in this fight. Joshua will be able to control the distance of pace of this fight and as the rounds go by he will land more and more of his power punches on his way to a 10th round stoppage win.
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| Joshua stinging Joseph Parker with a crisp jab |
In the U.K. Joshua is already a star, regularly selling out stadiums. Since he is such a star he hasn't felt the need to step in the ring with the other man who can lay claim to being the best heavyweight in boxing, Wilder. Povetkin is a top five heavyweight though and should be a good test for Joshua. He already has some impressive wins on his resume, including a stoppage of Klitschko, a wide decision win over Joseph Parker, and a stoppage of Whyte. Joshua has also handed two American fighters, Dominic Breazeale and Charles Martin, their first career losses. Now he will set his sights on Povetkin and look to hand him his second career loss.
Compared to Joshua who is still in his prime, Povetkin is ancient at the age of 39. The Russian pugilist fights out of the orthodox stance and has good power. He will be giving up a significant height and reach advantage to Joshua though. Against taller fighters Povetkin will try to jab the body but doesn't make much use of that punch. He really just flashes the jab to get his opponent to bite so he can swing away with an overhand right that is very dangerous. Povetkin carries serious knockout power in both hands and has also put plenty of opponents down with his left hook. While he has never been knocked out he has been dropped numerous times and will need to fight intelligently against a puncher like Joshua.
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| Povetkin admiring one of his knockdowns of David Price |
This fight is a dangerous one for Joshua. Povetkin is a serious threat to his titles but doesn't bring that much fanfare to the fight. Since Povetkin is the smaller man expect to see him try and make this an inside fight. He won't be able to do much damage from the outside so he will need to get in the pocket, attack the body, and look to catch Joshua with an overhand right. If Joshua fights intelligently this will be an easier fight for him than it will be for Povetkin. Povetkin will have to be brave and eat a few punches to get inside. Meanwhile, with his height and reach advantage, Joshua will be able to stay on the outside where he can control the smaller fighter with his jab and wait for his opportunities to land his power punches. Whoever controls the distance in this fight should also control the outcome.
PREDICTION: Alexander Povetkin is a good fighter with heavy hands and he is certainly a dangerous opponent for Anthony Joshua. However, his size disadvantage will be his downfall in this fight. Joshua will be able to control the distance of pace of this fight and as the rounds go by he will land more and more of his power punches on his way to a 10th round stoppage win.
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