Wladimir Klitschko VS Alexander Povetkin

Regardless of whether Povetkin shoulders some culpability for running into Wlad's chest, he definitely deserves blame for not:

1. Haranguing the corrupt referee

2. Not headbutting, rabbit punching and hitting Wlad below the belt

If you have the referee against you then you need to take matters into your own hands. If Pabon DQ'd Povetkin then good! He'd have turned the event into a total farce and more would view the result as illegitimate, there would have been strong calls for a properly-officiated rematch. Povetkin accepted being beaten-up and defeated and on top of that was compliant in a 47 minute aesthetic horror show. Fouling Wlad would have hopefully cut it short and made things more entertaining at least. Povetkin would have shown that he didn't have a victim's mentality and tactically reduced his disadvantage, giving himself a better chance of victory. Wlad and Povetkin both saw their stock fall that night. Wlad showed a lack of honour and contempt for the spectators, though similar charges could be levelled against Ali or Ward in certain fights.

Why did Wlad do it? The obvious answer is that he believed there was a high chance of losing à la Puritty/Sanders/Brewster 1, so high that he was willing to grapple constantly in order to minimise the risk. Wlad is conservative by nature though, so he may not have needed to believe that Povetkin had more than a decent minority chance of an upset in order to adopt the tactics he did. He probably believed that in the long-run, how he won wouldn't matter much and that the win on paper would be viewed positively regardless, especially as it enabled him to keep the win streak going.

Furthermore, even those who believe that Povetkin would have beaten Wlad on a level playing field only have their suspicions and most assume that Wlad would have probably won in such a scenario too. So there was logic in Wlad’s cynicism. Wlad could also make the excuse that "I fight according to the framework provided by the referee", omitting that Pabon was directly or indirectly paid off to protect the A-side champion against a potentially dangerous challenger.

 

Povetkin deserves none of the blame for Wlads disgraceful cheating. Wlad at one point tried to press so much of his weight down on Povetkins back that his feet left the canvas

And look at this.. Wlad turning his back and running away. Give Povetkin a fair ref and Wlad loses by dq .

https://s02.yapfiles.ru/files/708906/Wladimir_Klitschko_vs_Alexander_Povetkin_3.gif

 

It's crazy that boxing fans will criticize a fighter for not cheating

 

Wlad deserves most of the blame but Povetkin deserves blame for allowing himself to be bullied and letting Wlad get away with it. Povetkin even said after the fight something like "Klitschko is a great champion, I wasn't strong enough tonight". Poor.

 

Povetkin was being cheated by Wlad and the referee, he was on his own and gets no credit for being an impotent victim. It's pathetic to just let an opponent molest you with illegal tactics and beat you up when you can do something about it.

 

He should have been docked a point or 2, but D'Qed? Nah. I will say tho that this was the birth of his infamous nickname 'Wladimir Clinchko'!

 

Povektin is a clean boxer. He doesn't believe in fighting dirty. Im not going to hold a guy accountable for wanting to fight fairly.
Klitschko throughout his career had multiple warning and point deductions for excessive holding. So it wan't just Povetkin who WK held groped , back humped and molested round after round

 

The Wlad trained by Steward wouldn’t have fought quite like this. Emanuel would have gotten on his case in the corner worse than the Chambers fight. Wlad would have gotten Povetkin out of there before 9.

Also, while this wasn’t one of Wlads most entertaining fights, he still landed some of the best left hooks you’ll see. And those are what busted Povetkin up. Not the clinches.

Also… watch many of Ali’s fights and you’ll see PLENTY of clinching. I’m sure you are one of those that call him “Da Greatest!” huh?

 

Exactly. This and arguably Haye should be DQd.

People who think Wlad was some technical mastermind don’t know jack about boxing. If he was so technical why did he have to grapple every 5 seconds? He simply didn’t have the ability to box without grappling, he was more of wrestler. And I say that loosely because really he had the advantage because most men he fought were smaller than him.

Wlad was shite

 

All that was just head games and dirty tactics from Fury's team. There was nothing wrong with the canvas, and nothing wrong with Klitschko's gloves, but he was forced to wrap his gloves twice because the ex-convict John Fury was late showing up to Klitschko's dressing room. Low level tactics from Fury.

All that had Wlad rattled and he didn't fight as well as he normally does.

That being said, against Povetkin, Klitschko should have been disqualified.

 

Nope, there was even a supervisor who disagreed. And there is wrong with Klitschko's gloves, as this is at least the second fighter claiming so and hist dirty games overall. So no matter how you defend him because of being his fan or because of hating Fury, I don't mind either, but what you say is not true, the facts are there. And to finalize how the corruption and the dirty games played well for Wlad - yes, we agree he should have been disqualified, but yet he wasn't. He was never even sanctioned for, but once in US against Jennings. There was nothing wrong with the canvas, it's just Thomas Putz (the German) lost his grammar and Vitali started arguing like a soviet educator. There was nothing wrong with the canvas, it's just the Klitschkos who didn't want to remove one layer from, as it as just fast as a matters. I even wonder, why is the champion to decide what gloves his opponent will wear, he might as well pretend for his underwear and shoes. The referee also talked about the hesitancy of Vitali and how he "seemed like he couldn't pull the trigger". Many experts and fans commented that the canvas was that "spongy" in order to neutralize the mobility of Fury, which makes sense. I am not going to even check how tall Wlad really was compared to Fury.

BBC: "It was evident at Klitschko's training camp in Austria that his ring was particularly spongy and that's how he likes it - it reduces an opponent's mobility while giving him extra purchase. It might seem unfair, but in boxing it's a champion's prerogative."

 

"Povektin is a clean boxer."

In one sense.

"Im not going to hold a guy accountable for wanting to fight fairly."

If your opponent is honourable then this attitude is justifiable but in a corrupt world it's self-defeating. It amounts to letting your opponent beat you up with the assistance of a bodyguard. Povetkin came away from it looking like a helpless victim of bullying and a good loser.

"So it wan't just Povetkin who WK held groped , back humped and molested round after round"

Sure but this fight was by far the most egregious example. And not everyone just passively accepted it: Peter dropped Wlad thrice in the first fight with the first 2 KD's coming from illegal and dangerous rabbit punches. People don't remember that, they just remember the 3 KD's and Wlad winning by relatively thin margins in a war. And Wlad could have no complaints as Peter's fouling was retaliation for his own.

 

A disgrace. It’s funny how some cite this win as a feather in Klitschko’s cap. It was a complete joke. He’s ridiculously overrated. Reigned over absolute no hopers and had everything his own way. The prime example of quantity over quality. Vitali, on the other hand, is my favourite ever boxer.

 

I agree that the fight was a clinchfest and it was mostly Wlad's fault. Mostly, because Povetkin initiated a bunch of clinches himself instead of trying to work on the inside. They should have had a rematch with a different referee.