What do people see in Alexander Povetkin?

Noel857 · May 25, 2025

George Crowcroft said: ↑

I see a power puncher, with discipline, good combinations, a full arsenal of shots, a good infighting game for the modern era with actual conditioning (another rarity for modern heavies), I also see a guy who routinely proved that these super heavyweights are not invincible against smaller guys.

I also see the clear #2 of the post Vitali portion of the Klitschko era. In fact, he has a better resume than Vitali anyway.
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You are a great poster George and i respect your opinion,but on this one we very much differ. I see a decent fighter in a poor era who gets talked about as though he is some sort of killing machine.

McGrain · May 25, 2025

He's very organised, he has a good left-hook, his chin is good, he's busy, aided by drugs probably, he comes to fight. Overall he's schooled in the literal sense and has guts. A good puncher who can take a good punch who will try very hard has my heart at heavyweight.

OddR · May 25, 2025

I have noticed the Povetkin praise go up recently to be fair.

mr. magoo · May 25, 2025

HistoryZero26 said: ↑

Chambers was a big win in that era for sure. He was also undefeated when Povetkin fought him.

Both Byrd and Rahman hadn't lost since their Wlad fight when Povetkin beat them. They were both still under 40. Not that they were at their best but the wins weren't meaningless. And those wins aren't as valuable as Wlads wins over them but I'm not comparing Povetkin to Wlad I'm comparing him to everyone else in those eras.

Its just circumstances some eras are harder to accomplish certain things then others. Him being in an era with one dominant champ and in the 21st century top guys are much less willing to fight unless theres a belt on the line. Got to take that into account when looking at Povetkns resume. Him being the 2nd best HW of his era doesn't mean he isn't one of the worst HWs to hold that place in their era. I'd agree with that.
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I agree with most of your post. But Rahman was about as shot as you can get when Povetkin fought him

PRW94 · May 25, 2025

Noel857 said: ↑

You are a great poster George and i respect your opinion,but on this one we very much differ. I see a decent fighter in a poor era who gets talked about as though he is some sort of killing machine.
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This plus infinity.

Saintpat · May 25, 2025

There’s a recurring mention throughout those who rate Povetkin highlight that he was somehow the second-best fighter of his era.

You almost have to define his ‘era’ as people who started and ended their careers exactly when he did to come up with that. That’s not how eras work — each individual doesn’t get an era. We have the 1980s and the 1970s heavyweight eras, the post-WWII era (Louis’ waning days through Marciano), etc. We don’t get ‘the Max Baer era’ where we discount anyone who overlapped him but finished earlier than his peak nor was significant during Baer’s better days and went onto greater things after.

Povetkin was > both Klitschkos. One dominated him, he never fought the other, but there’s overlap during Alexander’s significant years.

Go by Ring Magazine rankings in the 2010s and he’s only as high as second in 2014, after Vitali was retired. He’s below both every other year they are active, and below many others (Tyson Fury, Pulev, Ortiz, Joshua and several more) in various years. I can’t see how he goes above Fury and Joshua, in particular, being as they both beat Wlad and Povetkin was completely dominated by him, to name two. So that puts him fifth in that era at best if we also count the K2 brothers.

Prior to that he’s 10, 4 and 3 (behind K1 and K2) in 2007-2009, and unranked before that.

Yeah, he was a contender. He wasn’t the best of his era. Nor second-best. And consider this era has to go through the Dillian Whyte fights, he’s not even top five imo. Definitely top 10 over that period starting in 2007 (except for the years he lost for getting popped for PEDs, where he is inactive and unranked, which also has to figure in there somehow as active boxers were ranked for those years and should get credit for such).

janitor · May 25, 2025

If the Klirschko's hadn't been around, Povetkin would probably have reigned supreme.

Saintpat · May 25, 2025

janitor said: ↑

If the Klirschko's hadn't been around, Povetkin would probably have reigned supreme.
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If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas!

So you need to remove at least two guys to get him to the top, and in many years others. You’d also have to outlaw PED testing.

mr. magoo · May 25, 2025

Saintpat said: ↑

There’s a recurring mention throughout those who rate Povetkin highlight that he was somehow the second-best fighter of his era.

You almost have to define his ‘era’ as people who started and ended their careers exactly when he did to come up with that. That’s not how eras work — each individual doesn’t get an era. We have the 1980s and the 1970s heavyweight eras, the post-WWII era (Louis’ waning days through Marciano), etc. We don’t get ‘the Max Baer era’ where we discount anyone who overlapped him but finished earlier than his peak nor was significant during Baer’s better days and went onto greater things after.

Povetkin was > both Klitschkos. One dominated him, he never fought the other, but there’s overlap during Alexander’s significant years.

Go by Ring Magazine rankings in the 2010s and he’s only as high as second in 2014, after Vitali was retired. He’s below both every other year they are active, and below many others (Tyson Fury, Pulev, Ortiz, Joshua and several more) in various years. I can’t see how he goes above Fury and Joshua, in particular, being as they both beat Wlad and Povetkin was completely dominated by him, to name two. So that puts him fifth in that era at best if we also count the K2 brothers.

Prior to that he’s 10, 4 and 3 (behind K1 and K2) in 2007-2009, and unranked before that.

Yeah, he was a contender. He wasn’t the best of his era. Nor second-best. And consider this era has to go through the Dillian Whyte fights, he’s not even top five imo. Definitely top 10 over that period starting in 2007 (except for the years he lost for getting popped for PEDs, where he is inactive and unranked, which also has to figure in there somehow as active boxers were ranked for those years and should get credit for such).
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Thirteen years in rings top ten including a handful of those years of being top three is pretty damn solid though.

janitor · May 25, 2025

Saintpat said: ↑

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas!

So you need to remove at least two guys to get him to the top, and in many years others. You’d also have to outlaw PED testing.
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So in other words, all it woudl take is for the Klitschko brothers grandparents, not to decide on an early night.

OddR · May 25, 2025

I think Povetkin would have been better off in this era (well I mean he was kinda but you know what I mean). He would have probably got more chances.

He seemed to get a few more bigger fights after the Wlad loss actually.

OddR · May 25, 2025

mr. magoo said: ↑

Thirteen years in rings top ten including a handful of those years of being top three is pretty damn solid though.
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Even against AJ you could see the danger he presented.

Cojimar 1946 · May 25, 2025

Saintpat said: ↑

There’s a recurring mention throughout those who rate Povetkin highlight that he was somehow the second-best fighter of his era.

You almost have to define his ‘era’ as people who started and ended their careers exactly when he did to come up with that. That’s not how eras work — each individual doesn’t get an era. We have the 1980s and the 1970s heavyweight eras, the post-WWII era (Louis’ waning days through Marciano), etc. We don’t get ‘the Max Baer era’ where we discount anyone who overlapped him but finished earlier than his peak nor was significant during Baer’s better days and went onto greater things after.

Povetkin was > both Klitschkos. One dominated him, he never fought the other, but there’s overlap during Alexander’s significant years.

Go by Ring Magazine rankings in the 2010s and he’s only as high as second in 2014, after Vitali was retired. He’s below both every other year they are active, and below many others (Tyson Fury, Pulev, Ortiz, Joshua and several more) in various years. I can’t see how he goes above Fury and Joshua, in particular, being as they both beat Wlad and Povetkin was completely dominated by him, to name two. So that puts him fifth in that era at best if we also count the K2 brothers.

Prior to that he’s 10, 4 and 3 (behind K1 and K2) in 2007-2009, and unranked before that.

Yeah, he was a contender. He wasn’t the best of his era. Nor second-best. And consider this era has to go through the Dillian Whyte fights, he’s not even top five imo. Definitely top 10 over that period starting in 2007 (except for the years he lost for getting popped for PEDs, where he is inactive and unranked, which also has to figure in there somehow as active boxers were ranked for those years and should get credit for such).
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Povetkin's prime didn't overlap with Joshua's so its a stretch to claim they are the same era. And he doesn't have anything equivalent to Fury's debacles with Wallin, Cunningham, Pavic etc.

mr. magoo · May 25, 2025

OddR said: ↑

Even against AJ you could see the danger he presented.
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POV was long past prime and gave AJ problems for sure

NoNeck · May 25, 2025

Saintpat said: ↑

Byrd was 37 and Rahman was less than 2 months shy of 40. Neither had a single win of note between losing to Wlad and losing to Povetkin.

Between them, Byrd and Rahman had three more fights and one more win (that win being by Byrd at cruiserweight over a 4-3 guy). Byrd got KO’d at light heavyweight seven months after fighting Povetkin, lol.

Chambers was undefeated but he was a smallish guy with some skills but hardly a world-beater. It’s not a horrible win but if that’s a defining win on someone’s resume, that in itself is pretty defining.

I see no argument for Povetkin being the second-best heavyweight of his era because both Klitschkos are in that era. Depending on how you want to define that ‘era’ there are guys like Monte Barrett, Corrie Sanders, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua who all beat Klitschkos — something Povetkin failed miserably at doing in his one try — not to mention Deontay Wilder and some others.

Povetkin to me was never an elite heavyweight in his time, but was usually at the top of the heap of the next level … he beat a lot of the other also-rans. He was ‘best in show’ among the bridesmaids but he was never the bride.
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I really don't think Chambers was any worse than a peak Byrd when Povetkin beat him. I remember thinking that would be the first of many good wins to come for him, but it didn't really happen that way. He made a past prime Chagaev and Huck look good before looking terrible against Wlad. He then went to PED City and the better wins he logged were against guys who were conspicuously fringe like Takam and a possibly drunk Perez. The past prime draw against Hunter and bail out ko against Whyte were respectable though.

The two time PED screw up in getting the Wilder fight really is a negative for him. I think Wilder would've knocked him out and it would've given a much needed common opponent for comparison to Joshua (no Drummer Boy).

Any talk of Byrd and Rahman mattering for him is revisionist.

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