Povetkin: overrated or underrated?

Price did not drop Sasha

Ref didn't count it

 

Povetkin 2.0 (after the Wladimir fight) was a beast of his time period. An awesome fighter during that era (2014 - 2018). It wasn't enough for a prime AJ though and that's also ok. He was at that level immediately after Fury, Wilder and AJ.

Povetkin 2.0 would also have beaten Wladimir.

I don't rate Povetkin from before 2014 really high. The Huck fight was a disgrace. He is a very limited, dirty fighter. Still can't believe the Arslan 1 and Lebedev robberies. There were more fights like that.

I think before 2014, Boytsov was a better fighter than Povetkin, like early in their careers.

 

Believing they are roided is different from them getting caught for roids. I think lots of guys probably were but wouldn't go accusing them of it unless they test positive.

Two Wilder fights got canceled due to peds, not just Povetkin. He was under no obligation to take either fight at that point. It's certainly not ducking to cancel, same as if someone comes in grossly overweight.

For example, Benavidez could have **** canned the Charlo fight but wanted the payday. Maybe Wilder & his team thought he could not afford another delay and simply agreed to go ahead in spite of it. But actually blaming Wilder for Povetkin's peds result is bizarre.

 

Jesus Christ this is stupid. He was past it for Joshua and Whyte, and Wlad has one of the most appallingly cowardly fights on record in a professional boxing ring.

Povetkin has wins over Whyte, Byrd, Chagaev, Rahmen, Chambers, Duhapuas, Price, Takam, Donald, Hugh Fury, Wach, Perez, Charr, Huck, Mayfield, and a few other guys whose names were decent at the moment he fought them. It was a career that put most titlists to shame.

 

Byrd--one step away from being totally shot
Rahman--beyond shot
Duhaupas--very short notice without any training camp

C listers: Price, Hughie, Wach, Mayfield

His career is basically about beating Chagaev, Chambers, and Whye, and to a lesser extent Perez, Huck, and Takam. And he was around for a long time.

That puts him on par with a lot of those early 80s beltholders. Trevor Berbick cuts it pretty close.

 

What I find amusing about these threads is the fact they are made with a clear agenda behind them. Yes, I think most can agree that Povetkin was overrated, but his resume is still leaps and bounds beyond Ortiz’s (who the author of this thread purports as one of the greatest heavyweights of this era). Consistency and objectivity are key in any boxing debate.

 

Povetkin was a quality fighter -
he defeated a 30-0 Eddie Chambers who would go on to score some solid wins after their fight as well.
He iced Whyte who was on an excellent run in the division and a top contender.
He beat top Contender Chagaev in a big showdown fight.
Perez was a big fight and he crushed him.

But Povetkin also never suffered any embarrassing losses. That does separate him from many other contenders of other eras. The 80s guys always seemed to lose several fights they should not have lost. Povetkin’s was consistent only losing to Wlad (lasting the distance) and being stopped pass prime to Joshua and being highly competitive until that stoppage. And the post Covid throw away loss on his ledger to top contender Whyte.

He faced big punchers (Wlad, Price, Joshua), big men (Price, Wach, Wlad, Joshua) quality southpaws (Byrd, Chagaev) boxers and movers (Byrd, Chambers, Donald, Hunter) . He fought a versatile array of fighters most guys don’t want to match up with anymore.
I rate him the 3rd best heavyweight of the Klitschko era and wouldn’t have a problem picking him over some legends of the past like Ken Norton

 

No. Povetkin was fantastic. If anything, he was underrated.

 

He wasn’t a champ though. I think Brewster had a better career.

Good fighter, but definitely not on Wilder and Joshua’s level.