Reflecting back on his career I think he was an excellent all around fighter. He was both mentally tough and physically durable. Had decent power, good boxing skills and stamina. He went 125-7 in the amateurs and won the Olympic gold. In the pros he was ranked in the top ten by ring magazine for a combined 13 years and was in their top 3 for about half those years. Had five WBA title fight wins. Was only beaten 3 times - two of which by world champs and once by a top contender who he beat once himself and when he was over 40. Overall I think he had a great career. On a negative note he did get caught using PED’s but that seems to be common today. Will he make the HOF ? I don’t know, but lesser people have made it in..
Those WBA title fights were jokes: Cedric Boswell, a 40-year-old Hasim Rahman, Andrzej Wawrzek, a cruiserweight named Huck who probably deserved the decision. I don’t think he showed much toughness in his fight with Wlad. Everybody talks about Wlad holding but Povetkin basically worked his way inside and … thrust both of his arms forward under Wlad’s armpits. What as the purpose of getting inside if he wasn’t going to punch. Heck, he didn’t even punch on his way to getting inside much. It was as clear a ‘I’m happy to be here, please get me to the final bell’ performance as I’ve ever seen. Then he gets caught on PEDs … makes a massive crybaby protest, gets reinstated claiming he never took anything and … pops hot again on even worse stuff. Yet after that he still fought the fight he tested positive for (because the Russian commission is part of a corrupt doping factory) and fights Duhaupas who took the fight on one day’s notice and had to borrow shoes to even get into the ring. I think he’s a complete disgrace. Hall of fame? For what exactly? Losing every meaningful fight and having doing more juice than Ivan Drago?
I think that when you put it all together, he was the standout heavyweight of his era, outside of the Klitschko family. However, don't view him as a belt holder, view him as an all time great contender.
Harry Wills didn’t deserve his shot. For a start he had one job, KO Firpo in an exciting fashion so there would be a big gate, no one wanted Harry after that fight that’s why Dempsey and he didn’t meet. Let it go Janitor!
Tim Witherspoon won a championship belt and acquitted himself well against the best heavyweight of his day (Holmes). He didn’t disgrace himself by TWICE getting caught cheating on PEDs. And I don’t recall Holyfield failing a drug test, much less two. After the second he should have been banned for life. He’s a disgrace.
I don’t see anyone dropping Jake LaMotta for throwing a fight (at least one, and who knows how many might have been fixed in his favor) and a ton of people on here who believe Sonny Liston threw one or even both fights with Ali still rank him as an ATG. Personally I don’t have any strong feelings either way about Tim Witherspoon but in my mind he accomplished more than Povetkin and that’s the only way I really addressed him since another poster compared them.
Best heavyweight of his era bar the Klitschko brothers. Even Old Povetkin was a handful for top fighters.
I see him as like a Samuel Peter/ray Mercer/Jerry quarry level. World class, capable of being a titlist depending on circumstances, but was never gonna be the top dog in the division.