Povetkin was great against David Price. He toyed with him, and punished him with a nice left hook. Against AJ, he was good till round 7, when he gassed. AJ had size, reach and age advantage. We all saw Povetkin dominated first 3 rounds, and was really active at rounds 4, 5 & 6, while AJ hid behind his jabs. Naturally, this led to Povetkin's exhaust and AJ finished him off with a strong right. AJ was running away from Povetkin after realizing he can't outbox him in 1 on 1 bout. The guy is too fast and agile compared to AJ. If the fight continued as in first 2 rounds, Povetkin would definitely knock out AJ with his left hook. There comes the disadvantage of size and weight. Then AJ changed his strategy and hid behind jabs, attacked body while keeping distance and waited till Povetkin gassed. Then stopped Povetkin. Well this was sad for Povetkin, because he fought 4 giants in his career, Klitschko, Wach, Price and AJ. Against Klitschko, he had no idea how to fight against an opponent of that size, as a result he took a beating like a small kid. Against Wach he also struggled, but was better. Against Price, we saw he got his lesson and wiped the floor with him. When it was time to face AJ, it was too late for him. A 39 years old smaller boxer fought a 29 years old bigger one. As I said, he dominated and outboxed AJ, but got tired in 4, 5, 6 and gassed in 7. I think Povetkin could get another title shot against Wilder, if he beats the likes of Whyte ,Parker, Breazeale, but will it be too late for him?
Povetkin is on his last legs. Have some tune ups & wait for Usyk to fade, that's my prediction It's an accurate prediction based on Sasha's career so far. Povetkin definitely needs some time to rebound confidence. Maybe Amir Mansour ?
I would say fight Parker, but Parker's team is set on fighting the weakest opponents while trying to get another title shot. Plus Povetkin would beat him.
I think they are trying to rebuild Parker's self confidence. It was a mistake to match him with Whyte after loss to AJ. Whyte is too dangerous and experienced compared to Parker. 2 losses in a row, and Parker would consider retirement in a 3rd. He should stay away from guys in top 10 for a while, he is only 27 and has to learn alot. Kownacki did the right thing and faced Helenius, avoiding AJ. I would match Whyte or Ortiz with Povetkin. Both would be matches for boxing fans.
