Translated material
Semi-final four
Alexander Povetkin is going to take the next step towards a championship fight
In the German city of Erfurt, the future of Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin will be decided this coming weekend. The right to determine the professional prospects of the winner of the Athens Olympics belongs to former IBF and WBO world champion Chris Berda. The outcome of the fight with the American will determine whether Povetkin will grow from the category of “young and promising” into a real contender for professional boxing titles.The meeting with the American is the penultimate step for Alexander on the path to the championship fight. The Povetkin-Bird fight is being held as part of a kind of four-way tournament for a fight with IBF title holder Wladimir Klitschko. The other semi-final features Calvin Brock and Eddie Chambers on November 2nd. The winners of these pairs will meet in the ring in the final to determine which of them is worthy of challenging the Ukrainian.
If, by the way, one of the Russian boxers had been in Klitschko’s place, Povetkin would probably have refused the tempting offer of the IBF to participate in the tournament - Alexander, on principle, does not fight with his compatriots. And in general, the Olympic champion of Athens has the image of a “good guy” in the world of professional boxing; you ask whomever of his opponents, everyone is delighted with the relatively new Russian in the world of professional boxing.
So Chris Bird was extremely kind at the traditional press conference. “I really like Povetkin as a person, but in the ring everything will be different,” the American said without harsh words. - We both have the same goal - victory. I'm much more experienced than him and have fought a lot of 12-round fights. I’m in great shape and, naturally, I highly appreciate my chances.”
Bird is right about experience: he has more than 14 years in the professional ring and 44 fights, of which he lost only three - twice to the same Vladimir Klitschko and once to Ika Ibeabuchi. But the list of the defeated includes a full set of heavyweights who were one way or another in the news at the turn of the century, and it is headed by Vitali Klitschko and Evander Holyfield. Quite a worthy career for a 37-year-old boxer.
This career began when Sasha Povetkin was in school. “I have the utmost respect for Chris Bird. In his youth, he was one of my idols, and I always wanted to be photographed with him,” Alexander recalled the past. “But now I have to go into the ring against him.” I am confident that I will win."
You can’t argue with Byrd about 12-round fights either. No matter how promising Povetkin is, he will be taken seriously only after a full fight with a worthy opponent. So far, Alexander has never competed in 12-round fights - his longest fight was recently against Larry Donald and consisted of ten rounds.
In order to increase endurance, Alexander Orlov, who had previously worked with the country's national teams in barbell and rowing, was invited to Povetkin's team. And over the last three weeks of preparation, Alexander spent 80 rounds of sparring.
But it’s still unclear how the Russian boxer will feel if the fight drags on. Meanwhile, this is the most likely scenario for the development of events. Beard, with his relatively light weight and short stature, is very mobile in the ring, and it will not be easy for Alexander to reach him. At the same time, the American himself does not hit hard, preferring to rely on accuracy. But at 37 years old, you can’t really run away from an opponent who is almost ten years younger, and Povetkin always knew how to take a punch. So, according to many experts, the Olympic champion of Athens has a good chance of rising one more step in the hierarchy of professional boxing.