HBO is working to finalize a deal to show the October 5th fight between IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KO’s) and WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO’s) live in the United States, according to Dan Rafael. If HBO can swing this, it will be a big deal for American boxing fans, because they don’t get to see too many fights of the Klitschkos anymore.
HBO is selective in which fights of the Klitschkos they televise in the U.S, and rightfully so with Wladimir facing the likes Jean Marc Mormeck, Francesco Pianeta, and Mariusz Wach in the past two years. If HBO had aired any of those mismatches, it would have likely brought in poor ratings.
Wladimir-Povetkin may not bring in big ratings either, but it is at least a decent fight compared to the mismatches that Wladimir and his brother WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko are usually involved in.
HBO will also be televising a fight from Orlando, Florida between Miguel Cotto and Delvin Rodriguez on the same night, as well as unbeaten lightweight contender Terence Crawford against an opponent still to be determined.
Povetkin should at least make somewhat interesting against the 6’6” Wladimir, unless he ends up getting clinched all night.
Wladimir tends to clinch a lot when he’s facing pressure fighters with power. This can be an interesting fight if Wladimir lets his hands go, or a painfully boring one if he chooses to grab Povetkin in clinches for 12 rounds. It’s a risky fight for HBO to be televising because it has the potential to be a boring one if Wladimir decides to fight in a safety first manner to keep from getting nailed.
Wladimir will have a 4 inch height and 6 inch reach advantage to go along with his speed and power advantage over the smaller Povetkin. That should be enough for Wladimir to trounce Povetkin, but we’ve seen Wladimir worn and stopped before by the likes of Lamon Brewster and Ross Puritty; so it’s possible he could lose to Povetkin, but still not likely.