Bill Patrice Jones – It now seems that an intriguing heavyweight fight looms between Alexander Povetkin the unbeaten Russian and former WBC champion Samuel Peter for the interim IBF title.
Both fighters could not be more different and are respectively coming from totally different backgrounds. Povetkin was an amateur star, is heralded for his boxing skills, is unbeaten and perhaps a little untested at heavyweight. He has only fought one legitimate top ten contender in Eddie Chambers and was having a bad spell for 5 rounds before Chambers seemed to tire. His other notable wins are against an ageing Larry Donald and a shot Chris Byrd..
Povetkin is very young but has been on the cusp of a potentially huge showdown with Wladimir Klitschko for what seems like forever. Twice he has been forced to pull out of a scheduled meeting with injury and now that Klitschko has successfully defended his title twice against stand in opponents, Klitschko himself is injured.
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise for Povetkin that he never faced off with Wladimir when originally scheduled to, after all few teams would want to put their undefeated hot prospect in the ring with such a towering champion as Klitschko too soon. At the initial time the match was made after the Chambers victory I was somewhat concerned for Povetkin. Wladimir is truly in his prime here and now and has looked impervious ever since his points win over Peter which put him backing the mix. He has since then dominated and thoroughly outclassed the likes of: Chris Byrd, Tony Thompson, Sultan Ibragimov, Hasim Rahman and Ruslan Chagaev. Since his win over Chambers Povetkin has recorded only two wins: He stopped the overmatched Taurus Sykes in four and then after a spell on the sidelines out pointed Jason Estrada. Povetkin looked a little worse for wear against Estrada; he seemed to tire very quickly, was carrying far too much excess baggage for a fighter his age and generally lacked finesse or fitness. To his credit he did outwork a reasonable opponent in a first fight back, but the Povetkin who turned up against Estrada was quite a few sparring sessions and 5 mile runs away from being ready for Wladimir Klitschko.
Samuel Peter’s career has been very well documented so there is no immediate need to go back over it in detail. His performance levels have wavered dramatically over the years and it is often the case that you never know which Sam Peter will turn up. He has some career high points: Nearly stopping Wladimir Klitschko, comprehensively out boxing James Toney, coming back from the brink to dominate Jameel Mccline and knocking Oleg Maskaev senseless in six. Yet his career was hampered by an inability to stay in top shape once he started earning good money. He came into the biggest fight of his life grossly out of shape in the 250’s (Any fighter of Peter’s build/height weighing in the 250 region is a disaster, just look at how awful Chris Arreola was in his most recent bout) and got a horrible beating for his trouble. He followed that by putting on an extra 13 pounds, which meant he qualified for morbid obesity and lost a decision to Eddie Chambers. It seemed the once feared power puncher was done. However to his credit he has realised the error of his ways lost 30 pounds in all following the Chambers fight and stopped two journeymen.
Given the fact that Eddie Chambers seems destined to fight Wladimir next, it is highly unlikely he will risk his opportunity by fighting Povetkin again. Povetkin meanwhile will surely want to win the interim IBF title only to safeguard the title opportunity he earned long ago. Samuel Peter meanwhile will surely not turn down such a big chance and he recent weight loss must be signs that he means business again.
So who would win a potential Povetkin Peter clash? Well whilst perceived wisdom would opt for Povetkin to walk away the winner I have a sneaky feeling Samuel might upset Alexander in his tracks. Povetkin has had trouble getting into top shape recently and has looked quite overweight in his most recent fight. He has been inactive and never faced a true puncher. Peter meanwhile has fought the who’s who of the heavyweight division, and we know on his day he can be a seriously overbearing presence in the ring. It is unlikely Povetkin’s punches will bother Samuel too much and if he is sloppy Samuel could force his way inside. The way he tired against Estrada was evidence of a man not too hard to hit later on in a fight and if Samuel caught Alexander with a great right hand, how would he take it? For this author a fight with Samuel Peter would be an entertaining and interesting match up but too big a risk for Povetkin.
Alexander Povetkin has huge potential and talent, but his lack of fitness, inactivity and inexperience I feel may cost him dearly in what could turn out to be a dangerous fight. Sam Peter must surely take this opportunity by both horns and give it everything he has.