by James Slater – Wanting to remain sharp as he awaits his earned shot at IBF and WBO heavyweight ruler Wladimir Klitschko, unbeaten Russian star Alexander Povetkin will box journeyman Damon Reed in Baltimore next Friday (Oct. 16th). The 30-year-old will be having his second fight of 2009, last having boxed his way to a ten round UD win over former Olympian Jason Estrada back in April. Now trained, of course, by Teddy Atlas, Povetkin is taking no chances at all in fighting 37-year-old Reed, 44-13(31)..
Yes, Reed, nicknamed “Dangerous,” can punch, but never has he beaten a top quality foe. A pro since 1995, Reed has met some good fighters, but he has lost to all of them; quite often being KO’d or stopped. Herbie Hide destroyed him in less than a minute way back in 1998, while more recently, Kali Meehan, Roman Greenberg and Monte Barrett all halted him. Reed was taken out by “Two Gunz” in just 2-rounds in February of last year, and since then the 37-year-old has fought just once – forcing former welterweight Buck Smith (yes, that’s right, the same Buck Smith who fought and defeated Britain’s Kirkland Laing in 1990, and the same Smith who has had an amazing 226 pro fights!) to retire after a round down at cruiserweight.
Reed hammered Smith to defeat in April of this year, and he will now face a man who will arguably be the best fighter he has ever fought as a pro. Povetkin can’t be blamed for taking no risks while keeping trim for his date with “Dr. Steel Hammer,” but if it’s work he wants, he may be unlucky next Friday night. Stopped a total of 7 times in his 13 losses, Reed could well go home early on Oct. 16th. Unless Povetkin purposely goes easy on his man as he tries to get some rounds in.
But, should he indeed take that approach, Povetkin could run the risk of being nailed by a lucky shot. And, his average record aside, Reed can punch, as his 31 KO’s prove. At his best and coming out looking to take care of business, Povetkin, 17-0(12) could certainly be expected to get the job done inside 4 or 5 rounds.
Povetkin-Klitschko promises to be a good and interesting fight, even though most fans seem to think Wladimir will win when they meet next year. It would be a real shame if a meaningless tune-up fight turned into disaster for the 30-year-old and ruined (or at least took the shine off) his shot at world glory. Rest assured, this will not happen next week.
Look for Povetkin to win as he pleases next Friday. Reed, not short on courage, will surely give it a go, but he really does look utterly doomed.