When the tournament was announced I thought it was a great idea!! Imagine that, fighters who fight for and earn a title shot (not taking the easy route, ala sign with Don King) and I figured it would set up an exciting title defence for Klitschko THAT FANS WOULD WANT TO SEE. However, after reading the comments regarding tonight's fight it seems as if people are turned off by Povetkins performance. If that's the case was the tournament a waste of time or....................... Maybe I should stick with my initial impressions and accept that the winner of this tournament is the legitimate and worthy #1 contender and a fighter I look forward to seeing in the future. Another thought, Povetkin for all his amateur success is a veteran of only 15 pro fights and has done more in 15 fights than many do in their first 30. Maybe his promoters will forgo the title shot for some more seasoning. I think by his 20th pro fight we will see the promise many thought was there come to fruition. Thoughts?
I wouldn't consider it a let down. It's a step in the right direction for the division. And a new youthful top contender has emerged.
hell no it wasnt a let down, we had 4 named heavyweights fight each other for a shot at a heavyweight championship, and the better of the 4 came out on top.
I was a bit disappointed myself, but I guess I need to look at this objectively and not be so harsh: My expectations were too high for him. I never thought he was the heavyweight savior, but I envisioned a thrashing of Eddie Chambers as well. Despite the less than stellar performance that didn't live up to my expectations, he showed some good qualities and the kid's only had 15 fights. He'll improve.
It has to be taken in perspective, Chambers was undefeated, fast and kept his hands up and that's why a lot of punches were blocked. That also wasn't the best shape I've seen povetkin in but all in all it was a good performance.
The HW division was definitely better with the tournament that without the tournament. So I think it was positive. Povetkin-Byrd was interesting and so was Chambers-Povetkin.
