Povetkin makes Ring Magazine's top ten.

He's too small for Wladimir, seriously...and he doesn't have anywhere near the ring experience necessary to survive in the ring with him.

His only way of beating Wladimir is to get ALOT more ring experience - and Wlad isn't getting any younger. By the time Povetkin gets enough ring experience to decisively win, Wlad is gonna be old enough that the fight will be either pointless or less than what it could have been.

The alternative is to bust Klitschko's chin, but Povetkin doesn't have the power to do that, and his style doesn't allow him to go for broke ala Brewster or Sanders.

The truth is that big, skilled men like the Klitschkos and Lewis don't lose to smaller swarmers like Povetkin. Look at the records of both Lewis and Vitali - Lewis got blasted out twice, but only by McCall and Rahman (both big guys who swung for the fences), and Vitali got beat by Lewis, another big man. Vitali quit against Chris Byrd, but then again Chris Byrd is about as different from Povetkin in styles as a smaller guy can get.

Lewis and Vitali only lost to A)big guys who cracked them HARD or, in the case of Vitali, B)small, slippery guys who frustrated them into quitting

Wladimir is the exception - anything goes with that egg chin of his, but let's keep in mind the guys that knocked him out - Ross Puritty (mediocre skills, but still a big man that can punch), Corrie Sanders (big, athletic southpaw with a huge punch) and Lamon Brewster, who basically had to go through hell on earth to outlast Wladimir until he could punch him out, were all big punchers who went for the KO.

If Povetkin goes in for the KO like those three guys did, he's gonna get put to sleep. Wladimir is better than ever now, and Povetkin lacks the power to stop him with anything short of a perfect bomb. Unfortunately for him, bombing isn't Alexander's style - he's not trained in that style, so if he gets desperate and goes for broke he won't see the end of the fight.

Mark my words - if Povetkin gets in the ring with Wladimir before mid-2009 he will get blasted out fairly quickly.

 

so, radian, you would say then that Povetkin stands to lose, because he is too small. But if the fight went off in the next two years and Povetkin won, then it would because of Wlads chin issues?

Thats probably what people would say, should small Povetkin win

"Oh the superheavies are too big to beat, but Wlad has chin problems"

If Povetkin can beat a prime Wlad with only 15 fights to his name, the idea of Louis, Frazier, Liston, etc. not being able to contend with Klitschko, Bowe (on his good nights) and Lewis because Lewis and Bowe and Wlad are too big seem a little more questionable.

 

I really wanna see eddie chambers vs povetkin. If the winner of that fight goes on to beat wlad, he would get a huge following from the fans.

 

no doubt. I don't think anyone wants to see Brock vs. Wlad II. That would be pointless.

 

Wlad-Brock II can only be edged by Wlad-Byrd III.

 

Spinks beat Muhammed Ali.

 

I made some posts about this on the Euro forum a year or more ago.

You can make comparisons on a time basis (length of time from first pro fight) but from a pure vs. standpoint, and picking the first 14 opponents of a fighters career, I think Povetkin has the best resume since Jeffries. If you share the opinon of many on this forum that Jeffries fought a bunch of over the hill small stiffs (which I know you and I don't) I don't think you can pick a hwt fighter who has had a better first 15 fight win resume. Ever.

 

Spinks was basically a one-fight fighter. Bryd has to be viewed as a strong victory at this point. It will be most interesting seeing how good Povetkin turns out to be.

 

Ali was ranked 9th at the end of 1961, he had 10 fights.

Joe Louis was ranked 9th at the end of 1934, after 12 fights.

 

Ali had beat Miteff, who was top ten the year before
Louis beat Roper within the first six months or so, giving him the top ten rating

Joe Frazier,
Frazier was ranked six by the end of 1966.
Beat Bonavena (fight 12) and Machen (fight 13) in 1966.

 

Povetkin deserves to be higher than #10.

 

I never said Louis, Frazier, and Liston couldn't compete with Lewis/Bowe/Wlad - in fact, I think that any of the first three would beat any of the last three. I'm a strong believer in the idea that today's HW scene is garbage.

It's not exactly about Wladimir being big, per se - it's about styles. Wlad eats guys like Povetkin for breakfast, smaller guys that lack the power to hurt him. Jab+grab, as much as I hate it, is terribly effective versus a guy who's not only smaller than you, but needs to be inside your giant reach to do any work.

On top of that is the fact that Klitschko is head and shoulders above any other heavyweight nowadays. The only way to get the experience needed to SURVIVE against Klitschko is to get in the ring with him - he's the most dangerous heavyweight around by a significant margin.

That's why I think Sam Peter in a rematch, even with his limited skills, has the potential to beat Klitschko. He's got the style, strength, experience, and the heart to do it.

 

Oh, sure. Leon Spinks was champion after eight fights, and was certainly ranked in the top 10 after losing the title.