No guarantee Stiverne would accept. He is apparently on the shortlist of 3 for the next Joshua fight. He may forgoe the interim WBC for a direct world title shot and no doubt a bigger payday
Will be interesting to see how Povetkin performs, without his Meldonium. Stiverne ain't that bad. He's limited, but dangerous to trade with. Wilder had a big size advantage, and could stay out of harms way.
Styles make fights and I believe Stiverene is the tougher test for Povetkin than Wilder would of been. However Povetkin's skill and boxing should lead him to a win
I think it's a 50-50 type of fight myself. Stiverne and Povetkin are both pretty decent guys in this day and age, but both have plenty of shortcomings too. In the grand scheme of heavyweight talent we have seen in the last 30-40 years, neither of these guys is elite. :smoke
At first look Povetkin doesn't impress but I think he has a solid resume for a heavyweight. Especially in this era of the last 5-10 years where many fighters refuse to risk their standing by fine tuning themselves against good competition. As for the fight both guys are flawed but Povetkin is a good combination puncher and he is accurate. Stiverne is has quick hands and good power and is a sharp counter puncher. Both are durable. A lot will depend on Stiverne's shape. In shape he is a live dog. Out of shape i expect Povetkin to sweep the last 5-6 rounds for a points win
Personally I like this fight a lot, I think they'll match up well stylistically, it will probably be a retread of Povetkin-Takam to a certain extent, but a Stiverne win shouldn't necessarily be ruled out here.
Why would you say Stiverne 2 years ago? The only decent guy Stiverne ever beat was Chris Areola. Povetkin's an Olympic gold medalist who's beaten Huck, Byrd, Takam, Perez, and only lost in a clinch fest to Klitschko.
Stiverne might make more cash vs Joshua!! might get lucky and KO Joshua if he gasses and leave Joshua's big muscles twitching on canvas!!! Joshua might panic and gas once he see's that Stiverne won't lay down like all the Bosnian and Serbian Cab Drivers did that he fought! lol Povetkin smashed durable guys like Perez and Takam and was first to brutally KTFO Charr!! Povetkin when he's in shape destroys guys that are easy to hit like Stiverne! the fight will likely be in Russia and they'll spike Stiverne's water with Turbo Lax and send booze and Hookers to his room every night before the fight so he gets blasted out in 1 like Perez!! :deal :yep :hey
think about it Stiverne! Perez hasn't fought since his nightmare in Russia getting blasted out in 1... like what... 2 years ago or more? :huh
Stiverne's rankings are absurd. Beating Arreola twice does not make you a top 10 fighter. I'd call him a fraud, but I guess he didn't choose the rankings. Only thing to look for is if Povetkin can get the KO. And there's a good chance of that, as the only reason Wilder failed to KO him was because Wilder broke his hand early.
The most interesting thing about this is that it could pull Stiverne away from Joshua. It was pretty much a sure thing that Joshua was going to go with Stiverne or Pulev (assuming he pulled from the IBF rankings). Stiverne was the favorite as he's terrible, but if Stiverne takes the Povetkin fight, then Joshua could face Pulev. Pulev seems a shadow of himself, but it would probably still be quite a fight for Joshua.