The over rating of this lot of Heavyweights is astounding....Povetkin was losing badly before He pulled out a Good Uppercut to win the Fight....ATG Give me a Break.!!
I voted, yes, squeaks in ... because as someone who followed him before he went pro, his amateur record counts for a lot in my mind. Not as stellar as Usyk, but he was a winner. Not sure what the ATG criteria is but adding in his Olympic and other golds to that list tips him over perhaps. Can't really blame Wilder, but he probably would have had a WBC belt too if that had gone ahead ... I was backing him to beat Wilder until the fight got scuttled. And ... those comments in this thread overly dismissive of that line-up are just lame. It's like the people who wear Man U and Barcelona shirts and only follow soccer because of Beckham and Messi. Chris Byrd was no journeyman ... that was a great win early in his pro career. Someone on this site was linked up with Ahunanya and I remember thinking that was a tough fight for Povetkin to take so early on. Chagaev is on par with Wilder IMO. The Chagaev who beat massive hitting Vyrchys I'd put my money on to beat Wilder. Povetkin losing to a prime Vlad and Joshua, in fights which he made things tough for them, is no disgrace. If anyone can be classed as an ATG without holding a genuine belt ... perhaps Povetkin comes closest to it IMO. ..
Good call on remembering "Hunter" Vyrchis. Ever hear the story of how he got his ring name? His buddy took him hunting for the first time, and Vyrchis shot him by accident (he was all right). He never hunted again, but obtained his ironic nickname.
How was he losing badly ???? Imo povetkin won first two rounds , actually cst gave povetkin first 3 rounds , then whyte scored two flash KD’s and next round he got KTFO.
Not an ATG but a nice chance for him to make some good money at the end of his career It looks like most of his fights will now be here in the UK
KO'ing Whyte at this stage of his career is an excellent win for Povetkin. I guess he's still too good to be written off even at nearly 41. Not sure he's an ATG, but have often thought Alexander was somewhat underrated and slightly unfortunate to be around in the era of the bigger men like the Klitschkos, Joshua, Fury etc. He's still only been stopped once, by AJ. Povetkin has a very good resume now, WBA regular champion, WBC Interim, with some big wins and many highlight KO finishes and that's on on top of a glittering amateur resume.
His PED use sets him back for me, but if he manages to get a strap, I’d say he has ATG skills. I’m comfortable saying that he’s the best heavyweight to not win a title if not
A David Tua-esque HW somewhat? How's that? Good strong fighters who fought in eras that were dominated by huge men with nightmare jabs etc.. though I think Povetkins longevity outshines Tua somewhat now.. still world-class in his 40s whereas Tua was a journeyman losing to a shot to **** monte barrett etc..
Narrowly misses it, but he has had a notable run was my vote. To be a atg you must hold a belt or belts for a long time.
Maybe misses out on ATG to date when all's said and done, but his career is not quite over with that win last night. Ok, let's say HOF-worthy.
