http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3663302 i havent seen one thread about this yet ... and its major news... nobody cares about this waste of a division Foot injury forces Povetkin to withdraw from title bout vs. Klitschko Unified heavyweight titleholder Wladimir Klitschko is in the market for a new opponent after mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin suffered a foot injury, forcing his withdrawal from their upcoming fight, Klitschko adviser Shelly Finkel told ESPN.com Saturday. [+] Enlarge This content is protected Artyom Korotayev/AFP/Getty Images Alexander Povetkin withdrew from his Dec. 13 title bout against Wladimir Klitschko after tripping over a tree root and tearing a ligament in his left foot. Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) was scheduled to defend his belts against Povetkin on Dec. 13 at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany, on HBO. But Finkel said he was notified by Sauerland Event promoter Chris Meyer on Saturday morning that Povetkin's injury, suffered Thursday or Friday, would prevent him from fighting. While doing roadwork in his native Russia, Povetkin tripped over a tree root and tore a ligament in his left foot, according to Scott Shaffer, a Sauerland attorney. "The doctor told him he can't train until the end of November, which makes it impossible for him to be in a fight on Dec. 13," Shaffer said. "We're optimistic he will be ready to fight early next year and we're hopeful we can work something out where he fights Wladimir Klitschko early next year." Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs), the 29-year-old 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist, won two fights in the IBF's tournament to earn his mandatory status, stopping former titlist Chris Byrd in 11 rounds last October and then outpointing Eddie Chambers in the final in January. He took one tune-up fight against Taurus Sykes and knocked him out in the fourth round in July before the fight with Klitschko was signed. Now, Povetkin will have to wait. Finkel said Klitschko intends to keep the Dec. 13 date and defend his title against somebody else. "Wladimir is going to fight," Finkel said. "We'll go down the rankings and try to find a suitable replacement. We'll explore all of our options." The leading IBF contenders after Povetkin include Alexander Dimitrenko and Cristobal Arreola, both of whom have bouts scheduled, so it is unclear if either would withdraw to fight Klitschko. Beyond them are former champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman, neither of whom are scheduled to fight and could be candidates.
****ing pathetic i agree a packed house and 20 million viewers lost the chance to see the fight pathetic numbers from a country with potential tv audience of 85 million. wha the **** are german babies doing not wanting to watch this match up ****ing pathetic no excuses there parents should let them stay up to 11pm. as to 87 year old german granny`s not knowing about the fight, they should be dragged by there curlers from underneath there blankets and forced to watch on a cold winters night in germany i agree ****ing pathetic.
WTF is up with these HW's and getting injured? (****'s a joke now...lol) Anyway, I say they throw Arreola in the mix now, Why not?
as soon as one half decent american heavy comes along all the american intrest will come flooding back into the divsion and heavyweight boxing will be discussed in detail everyday on ESB. side note. many americans who join this site do not seem to know that the owners of esb set this site up for the popularity of heavyweight boxing the klitchko`s in particular. ironic when so many say they hate heavyweight boxing and then join a pro european heavyweight boxing orientated site. whats next vote mccain and join an obama appreciation website.
Why do so many who don't care about the HW division make so many threads about it? I never watch the strawweight division but I don't constantly complain about what I joke it is, I'll simply watch other divisions instead. A lot of whining little ****s out there.
Uh... http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98997 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99463 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99251 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99198 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98957 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98911 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98941 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98902 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98940 http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98901 But apart from those 10 other threads mentioning it, you're quite right.
There have been plenty of threads about who Povetkin´s replacement will be right here on ESB so this is not true. The hw division is, as someone already pointed out, extremely popular in Germany, where boxing is thriving. The division is not at a high talent wise, but it has been worse.
