Alexander Povetkin
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's boxing | ||
 |
2004 Athens | Super heavyweight |
Alexander Povetkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Александр Поветкин September 02, 1979 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Other names | Sasha |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 12 |
| Wins | 12 |
| Wins by KO | 10 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Alexander Povetkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Владимирович Пове́ткин; born in Kursk, Russia on September 2, 1979) is a Russian boxer. His height is 6' 2" (188 centimeters). Because of his amateur success, as well as his early pro accomplishments, he is seen as the leading prospect in boxing's Heavyweight division.
Amateur
After a successful amateur kick boxing career that included winning European and world titles, Povetkin won his first major boxing tournament at the Russian Championships in 2000 at the age of 21. This would be the beginning of several major amateur tournaments Povetkin would go on to win including; the Good Will Games in Brisbane, Australia in 2001; the 34th European Championship in 2002; the XII World Championship in 2003 held in Thailand; and the 35th European Championship in 2004. His amateur success would culminate in winning the gold medal at super-heavyweight (>91 kg) boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, in a walkover match over Egyptian Mohammad Aly. After taking Olympic Gold, he concluded his amateur career with a record of 125-7, with all losses won on rematch.
Pro Career
2005
After winning the gold medal, Povetkin took a year off before making the decision to turn pro. After meeting with several fight promoters, Povetkin signed a contract to fight for Saurerland Events. Unlike other promoters, Saurerland would allow Povetkin to train mainly in his native Russia, and fight primarily out of Germany. Povetkin made his professional debut in Germany June 11, 2005 by defeating German Muhammed Ali Durmaz by second round TKO. He followed that victory, in September, with a four round TKO over Cerrone Fox followed by a first round TKO over John Castle less than a month later. Although Castle was a last minute replacement for another fighter who Povetkin did not know anything about, he was still able to defeat Castle, when his opponent was not able to continue after the first round. In November, Povetkin won a one-sided four round decision over Canadian Stephane Tessier before finishing out the year at 5 wins, no losses, with a TKO on December 17, 2005 over experienced American Willie Chapman.
2006
Povetkin stated early in the year that he wanted to fight five times in 2006. His first fight on his way of accomplishing this happened on March 4, 2006 when Povetkin scored a 2nd round TKO over Nigerian 1992 Olympic bronze medal winner Richard Bango. Though Bango had some success in the first round, Povetkin rallied, to not only win that round, but to knock out Bango in the next round.
For his next fight, on April 22, Povetkin signed up for his most important fight to date by facing Friday Ahunanya. Povetkin vs. Ahunanya drew attention in the boxing community because Ahunanya was believed to be a tough opponent for someone with only six fights. Despite this, the fight was fairly one-sided and Povetkin won a by clear unanimous decision.
He followed up those wins with a third round KO in Hannover, Germany on June 3, 2006 against Ecuador's Livin Castillo, Povetkin's only south paw opponent to date, and a fifth round KO on September 23, 2006 against veteran American Ed Mahone in Wetzlar, Germany.
His final fight of the year was held on December 10, was against ex-Cruiserweight title holder Imamu Mayfield. Mayfield became Povetkin's opponent after original opponent Ross Purrity was injured before the fight. It was Povetkin's first pro fight in his native Russia and was held on the undercard of Oleg Maskaev's first WBC title defense; the first time a heavyweight championship bout was held in Russia. Povetkin won this fight by way of a KO in the third round, bringing his total record to 10 wins in 10 fights at the end of the year.
2007
On March 3, 2007 Povetkin scored another TKO, this time over experienced American, David Bostice, after the referee called off the bout when Bostice was unable to defend himself in the second round. Povetkin defeated Patrice L'Heureux on May 26th, in a fight that was stopped after Povetkin landed a flurry of punches that had his opponent helpless in the second round.
Next Scheduled Fight
Alexander Povetkin is set to return to Moscow on June 30th to face contender Larry Donald, in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. This will be Povetkin's second fight in Russia and Donald's first fight since losing a close majority decision to Nikolay Valuev in a WBA Heavyweight Title eliminator.
Personal Life
Povetkin has a wife, Irina, and a four-year old daughter named Arina. He also has a brother, Vladimir, who fights as a professional light heavyweight. Both fighters are trained by Valery Belov.
External links
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