Oh wow yeah this would've been a great match up. I favor Povetkin especially when he went on that run of vicious knockouts.
So has Zhang got to watch how Wlad "beat" him? Do they get similar officiating? If so, I'll take Big Bang
If Parker can beat him then Povetkin should be heavily favoured to do so. I see Zhang getting soundly outworked and outboxed here. Povetkin was always very good at taking these bigger slower guys apart.
On the one hand, Povetkin is the obvious pick, because he's got all the skills and a great chin and strong punch on top of that. But on the other hand, Zhang's favourite essential oil is ylang ylang. Big Bang Zhang, smellin' like ylang ylang, seems like he'd be difficult not to favour, so there is that. And you just can't do that with Povetkin's name unless you're Holler.
Povetkin stops him late. Povetkin was durable, even Wlad couldn't keep him down and we know Zhang will fade late. Povetkin is also technically better than anyone Zhang has fought so far, look how easily a faded Povetkin was able to get inside and land on Joshua, even against Wlad he forced Wlad to hug and clinch like crazy because he couldn't keep him at a distance. Povetkin was great at disguising his attacks, Zhang was made to hesitate by Parker's feints, I think he has similar problems with reading Povetkin and is reluctant to unload as he can't predict what's coming, backs up because of this and Povetkin walks him down.
This. Povetkin was great at leaping forward into close quarters and letting those hooks fly. Moreover, he had good head movement and was not easy to tag clean.Sucking up the space against a big guy like Zhang is going to either force him to try and reset backwards or trade in a situation where the shorter blockier guy is at an advantage. Zhang isn't much of a hugger either which Wlad used to great effect against Povetkin. Sasha wins this for me.
Zhang might hurt Povetkin a couple of times but fail to capitalise due to throwing so few punches. So Povetkin by decision, he'd simply outwork him
I think most people now rate him where he should as fighter who could compete in any era. But I think he's underrated from a technical perspective, he was a very technical fighter. He would give you the exact same look and from that one position could land several different shots. It makes it next to impossible to predict what punch he is going to throw which is why even a faded Povetkin had no problem landing on the taller Joshua. So you either have to do what Wlad did and get off first then smother his attack or try and keep him at range with the jab to the body like Joshua did but even that creates problems as he can slip inside a lead and land a variety of shots, usually by dipping inside the line by dipping his left shoulder where he can land an overhand right, left uppercut, corkscrew jab, right to the body, left to the body, you name it he could land them all and make each punch set up look exactly the same which is a nightmare for opponent to predict. JMM used to do the exact same thing.
Povetkin at his best, 2013-2017 in that stretch there… I’d go with Povetkin. Late stoppage or UD. Honestly he might have to get up off the deck a time or two though. But Povetkin would tee off on Zhang in spurts and rack up the damage/points. Zhang wouldn’t be able to avoid Alexander’s combos.
The big stiff scouse idiot David Price had Povetkin stumbling like a drunk after 20 shots of vodka in round 3 of their fight Zhang brutally sleeps Povetkin early, and this time there won't be the ropes to hold him up
after factoring all that into my calculations, zhang stands a better chance than i previously anticipated.
I see your point and I certainly pick Zhang over that version of Povetkin, by KO. However, a younger Povetkin was not that easy to hit and he was very good offensively. Zhang has to take him out early, if not, Pov wins the later rounds. That being said, Zhang definitely represents a great chellenge for any version of Povetkin - he's extremely big, strong and a very competent southpaw with two-handed brutal power.
I'm a big fan of Povetkin. I am convinced that in 2016 he beat Joshua and Wilder for example. On the other hand, Zhang weighs at least 25 kilos more.
