Alexander Povetkin vs. Carlos Takam - October 24th, Moscow

Well it didn't make any sense to declare the Wilder - Scott fight as the final eliminator to begin with. Even more unusual is their choice to create another mandatory for the winner of a fight which hasn't even happened yet. Jennings - Perez was actually a good choice and much more deserving of the eliminator status than Scott, who god knows how ended up being included in an eliminator match.

If I remember correctly, Povetkin fights only twice a year according to his contract, so if he defeats Takam, it is to be expected from him to try to lure Jennings or even Stiverne/Wilder winner into a fight next year. He is only behind Klitschko in terms of money so it wouldn't be impossible. If he manages to do that and wins that belt, then Klitschko - Povetkin II is on the horizon.

 

The fight is set to take place in Luzhniki Palace of Sports with the capacity of 11.500. Still no word about the fight purses but it seems that Povetkin is making around a million dollars per fight. No idea about Takam. I don't remember the purses being officially published for Povetkin - Charr either.

 

Here's the pre-fight analysis thread for the fight:

http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?p=16486029

It would be nice to see more people show up and share their views and predictions.

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Agreed. His gameplan will probably be to wear Povetkin down somehow. It's easier said that done though.

 

Povetkin's promoter says that Povetkin is in a "nuclear" shape for this fight and that he's 100% ready.

Also, Povetkin's trainer Ivan Kirpa shared his thoughts about the upcoming fight in a short interview earlier today.

Carlos Takam's assets?

- He always moves forward, throws a lot of punches and is very durable. I can't say whether he could be technically incentive [in the fight], but [he] could be very impressive.

Like you've said, Takam is physically strong boxer who fights on the inside and throws a lot of punches. Is he a suitable opponent for Alexander?

- I can't tell if he is suitable or not. Let's start with the fact that we don't choose the opponents. We just go against the one who is in front of us. On this level, the fighter who wants to world crown has to defeat the best. There is a certain rotation in the rankings [accordingly with the results], and we have to follow the rules, progress to the top line, and eventually fight for the world title.

 

The winner of the fight is likely to be next in line for the WBC title shot after Jennings (strange to see so many guys lined up in advance, but blame the WBC). If Povetkin wins, and also assuming Stiverne beats Wilder, there is a chance Stiverne takes an optional defense in a big money fight against Povetkin (Don King doesn't seem very keen on letting Stiverne fight Klitschko). Another option for Sasha would be to lure Jennings into the fight, or eventually rematch Chagaev for the WBA title. Sasha and his management are doing anything in their power to get the Klitschko rematch.