Alexander Povetkin's historical significance? Was he big enough?

Except a loss to Povetkin

 

You only want to use stats like that when it suits your argument! Now produce the Calzaghe & WK 'title defenses' numbers? Go on..

 

He's a wonderful boxer and it's tragic he never got a title.

As this point, I'm sorry to say I think he's just too old to accomplish anything more.

Additionally, I would agree his height limited his potential significantly.

Still, a prime Povetkin would definitely be able to win a title in the current era.

 

Look, for perspective, after the Loma-Rigo fight happened, the size differential is still being debated to this day. How about this friggin guy? 3-4 inches shorter than most of the elite HW's of his era and about 25-30 lbs. down on them as well. I'll never be a fanboy and Povetkin isn't a guy that I'm gonna talk up like some others, but the dude has earned his respect and then some.

 

Bit like Tua in the sense of a great HW fighter who never won a legit major title...

 

The Charr fight was an amazing display of brutality, skill & combination punching, he was phenomenal in that...

 

He absolutely was. Here's the thing, when I watch Povetkin fight, nothing really jumps out at me, his style doesn't speak to me, and when I rate fighters I usually do it in relation to how I would go about business or if they have skill or athleticism that jumps out to me. Povetkin doesn't tick any of those for me, but to have success at the AM level like he did and to do what he has done in the pro's while almost always being undersized....... He clearly has skill and talent - and a lot of both, but I just can't hang with how I percieve his method to his madness.

If a fighter is significantly undersized for his weight class, at least against the top dogs, he is gonna have to have at least one of: A. transcendent explosiveness/athleticism or B. Transcendent skill level. He doesn't have "A" so he must have a ton of "B."

Jayson Tatum is a DOG.

 

I think a great pro trainer would have propelled him even further... Who do you think would have been a good fit??

 

Oh man, I mean there are just too many to pick from and I totally agree. One guy I'll throw out there who is MASSIVELY underrated as a trainer and usually just sticks with New England fighters but an excellent trainer - "Iceman" John Scully. With Pov's AM career and the skill he already brought to the table though, Freddie Roach would have been an excellent fit I think. He has a sublime ability to identify a fighter's strengths and weaknesses and build off that without trying to change up the fighter entirely which is a ridiculous thing to do but happens all the time.

 

How about Fritz Sdunek as his trainer??

 

Unbeaten prospect Adam Kownacki's triangle figures are just slightly outside those (by an inch/15lb/an inch)...ditto Joseph Parker, currently holding one quarter of the major org heavyweight championship pie; ditto Tony Bellew (about to face another up-jumped cruiserweight, David Haye, in a WBO title eliminator); ditto mega hyped prospect Sergey Kuzmin (when he trains, as he balloons up more than 15lbs outside range when he's undisciplined); ditto unbeaten puncher and star amateur Óscar Rivas; ditto Amir Mansour, still in the mix at 45, in fact he's even smaller than Povetkin by every metric in your triangle; ditto unbeaten American prospect Jermaine Franklin; ditto spoiler artist dark-horse Joey Dawejko (much smaller than Povetkin); ditto Iago Kiladze (perhaps the second best Georgian fighter of all time behind the recently incarcerated GOAT and until recently white-hot middleweight contender Avtandil Khurtsidze), about to square off with Kownacki; ditto Miljan Rovčanin (outfought Alexander Dimitrenko last month on short notice but Dimi escaped with a gift draw); ditto Agit Kabayel who just beat Chisora; ditto former world title challenger (and Boystov conqueror) Alex Lepai; ditto mysteriously inactive divisional boogeyman Andrey Fedosov (very similar type of fighter to his countryman Povetkin, actually); ditto unbeaten "Haitian sensation" kayo artist Jean Pierre Agustin; ditto off-the-charts hyped Al Haymon prospect George Arias; ditto kickboxing champion and recent crossover, undefeated Tyrone Spong; ditto young, improving (despite some early growing pains adjusting to pro boxing) amateur legend Ytalo Perea; ditto Nigerian thunder-fisted Olympian and currently unbeaten Efe Afbah; ditto current unbeaten prospect (and decorated amateur, who schooled Chakhkiev and KTFO Wilder) Evgeny Romanov...

Will that do? 19 heavyweights, all roughly top 50? Not exactly rare. And those are just the ones that are within an inch or so height, an inch or so reach, and 15lbs or so average fight night weight of Sasha. Plenty of guys I didn't list are his size or smaller by one metric, or two, but not by a third.

 

Quality heavyweight that has been very consistent for a decade. Olympic Gold medalist and an amateur standout who held many wins over Robert Cammarelle (spelling).
For me he has the 3rd best resume of the post Lewis era behind the K brother's. That's very impressive considering that's a 14 year window now.
What he lacks is a signature career defining win.
And at this point I don't think he will ever get it.
He defeated Ahanayu in his 6th pro fight. Type of guy Wilder is still fighting against as a belt holder.
He took out Chris Byrd who was a year removed from having a belt in his 14th fight.
Very solid wins against: Chambers (30-0 prime) Chagaev, Huck, Takam, Perez, Wach, Charr, the afore mentioned Byrd.
In short he's 34-1 losing only by decision to Wlad.
That is a solid pro career. If he could get a signature win (Joshua vs Parker winner or Wilder) it would go a long long way in forever cementing his legacy.
If he doesn't get it, he'll be remembered as a good contender in an overlooked era.
Outside of winning a belt I don't think there is any fight out in the division at this point that can add to his legacy.

 

I'll admit, honestly I don't know enough about him to list him. I mean, I know the dude is a legend, and I'm sure he would have been a great fit, but I'm not gonna sit here and blow smoke up your rear, I just don't know enough about him.

 

I never watched Povetkin fight until after the WK fight, but all of his fights that I've seen are good performances. He is an excellent inside fighter who moves around a lot and presents a lot of angles. The angles allow him to hit with combinations without taking punches back. The Takam fight is a good chance to see Povetkin's skills.

 

By the time Headvetkin and Joshua fight Headvetkin might be 55 years old. ****en Big Mac truck brain.