Why Kubrat Pulev is the best fight out there for Wladimir Klitschko

Kubrat_Pulev_2Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KOs) has been widely criticized in these latter stages of his career for cherry picking his opponents. Going into his fight with Alexander Povetkin many people thought it would be a good match up, but as I feared, even though Povetkin was tougher than most, he completely failed to give Klitschko a good fight. A fighter’s challenge to a title is validated by who they have fought. This is what makes a man deserve a shot to take down Klitschko.

However, Alexander Povetkin didn’t fight a single top ten heavyweight leading up to his dull showdown with Wlad, Neither did Klitschko’s four previous opponents Francesco Pianeta, Marius Wach, Tony Thompson, and Jean Marc Mormeck. This is disgraceful and it’s no wonder that none of these men’s fights with Klitschko were even competitive. However, a fight with Kubrat Pulev could very well be the most competitive heavyweight championship fight we have seen for some time.

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Promoter of Klitschko vs. Povetkin Not Happy About How Fans Reacted

wladimir1000Before facing Alexander Povetkin, it was quite a while since Wladimir Klitschko was placed against a formidable opponent with the promise of an exciting match. Most of Wladimir’s opponents were written off by the boxing community before the first bell ever rang, similar to how Mike Tyson used to tune the boxing public to believe that the fight was never going to be competitive.

That was until one of the biggest and most important challenges to Wladimir Klitschko was signed as his competitor. Alexander Povetkin was supposed to be the fighter to give Klitschko trouble, and possibly expose his so called glass chin once again. Not only did people show interest in that fight, but the event itself yielded record profits. Moscow was buzzing with excitement during the build-up, and even more so during fight night.

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Wladimir Klitschko Mentions Wilder As a Possible Future Opponent

deontay32 - CopyThe heavyweight boxing division is drowning. There is a clear lack of formidable competition for either of the Klitschko brothers, and as time goes on, the remaining tiny pool of fighters is becoming dangerously dry.

After claiming a victory over Alexander Povetkin, Wladimir Klitschko is back on the hunt for the next opponent. But who is there left to fight?

David Haye will always linger as one of the options for Wladimir, but it seems as though there is no more interest in seeing the two fighters face each other again. The boxing community is not in favor of their rematch, proposing that it would be a waste of time for everyone.

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Bruised, beaten, frustrated – but not broken: Alexander Povetkin wants a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko

wlad793Russia’s Alexander Povetkin had a lot to deal with when he was in the ring challenging for Wladimir Klitschko’s collection of heavyweight titles. The Olympic gold medallist had to cope with Wladimir’s significant advantages in height, reach, weight and physical strength, and Povetkin also had to do his best to come to terms with “Dr. Steel Hammer’s” punching power. To add to these problems, Povetkin had to deal with the champ’s excessive holding, grappling and pushing – these three elements of Klitschko’s game prompting some people to feel the king should have been removed from his throne via disqualification.

But despite all this, Povetkin has called for a rematch with Klitschko. Speaking to The Moscow News today, Povetkin, 26-1(18) said he feels he can improve on last Saturday’s ultimately bruising and frustrating performance.

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Left-Hook Lounge: Miguel Cotto, Wladimir Klitschko, Felix Verdejo, & More!!!

cotto67666Jesus Q. (Brooklyn, NYC): Last Saturday night was a great night of action for Puerto Rico in the world of Boxing. How did you rate the performances of Miguel Cotto and Felix Verdejo?

Vivek W. (ESB): I watched Cotto’s domination with a very strong enthusiasm for what I felt was a solid performance. I thought he showed aggression on a level some didn’t know still existed, and I thought his dedication to the double jab and body work were a thing of beauty. That being said, I’d quickly caution anyone out there who even thinks for a second that this was even a remote indication of what we can expect from him on a higher level. If you want to rate his opponent with any accuracy, ask yourself how many “benchmark” fights take place on the elite level with men who enter the ring with more than 3 career losses? It happens, but very rarely at the elite level, and practically none in fighters under the age of 33.

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Should Wladimir Klitschko been disqualified for holding against Povetkin?

wlad793IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KO’s) showed very little interest in mixing it up with WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18 KO’s) in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night by the scores 119-104, 119-104 and 119-104 in Moscow, Russia.

For those who thought they were going to see an actual fight it must have been disappointing to the extreme because Wladimir immediately started clinching after every punch in the 1st round of the fight. I lost track of how many times Wladimir opted to clinch Povetkin, but I counted close to 30 after 3 rounds and it was shocking that he been allowed to get away with it by the referee Luis Pabon.

The fight reminded me of the 1976 match between Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki in Tokyo, Japan. It was billed as a boxer vs. wrestler match, but it turned out to be something of a joke with Inoki lying on the canvas kicking at Ali’s legs for 14 long rounds. There wasn’t any wrestling due to the rules and Ali threw only 6 punches in the entire fight. The Klitschko-Povetkin fight reminded me a lot of that bout because there had been a great deal of hype about it, and it was thought that the two fighters would get into some good exchanges.

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Klitschko dominates Povetkin in dull fight

wlad6778IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51 KO’s) should consider himself lucky that he wasn’t disqualified tonight for the clinching and pushing he did en route to beating WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18 KO’s) by a boring 12 round unanimous decision at the Olimpiyskiy, in Moscow, Russia. Wladimir held more than he usually does for his fights, which is hard to believe and he was shoving Povetkin to the canvas and getting away with it until the 11th round when referee Luis Pabon took 1 point away from Wladimir.

Wladimir put Povetkin down 4 times during the fight and seemingly had him ready to be stopped in the 7th after he knocked him down 3 times in the round, but unfortunately spent the remainder of the jabbing and clinching rather than looking to finish off a tired Povetkin. Wladimir’s first knockdown of Povetkin came in the 2nd when he hit him with a left hook to the head that sent him stumbling backwards to the canvas.

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Klitschko vs. Povetkin vs. Apathy

wladimir2How many people who don’t frequent boxing websites are aware that the Heavyweight Championship of the World will be contested mid-day Saturday? The prize once regarded as the greatest in all of sport will be on the line when Wladimir Klitschko faces Alexander Povetkin in Moscow, Russia. Beyond the traditional significance attached to such an event, another element adds even greater intrigue to the story: history. As Klitschko adds days and numbers to his impressive time as champion he more securely solidifies his place among the sport’s greats.

But, again, who will notice?

If HBO’s Saturday fight schedule were a theatrical production, this heavyweight fight would be nothing but the supporting cast member—resting in the shadow of aging star, Miguel Cotto.

But is it really the case that no one cares; or is it simply that Americans don’t care? Wladimir and his brother Vitali have no problem selling out arenas in Europe. They are loved in their native home of Ukraine and their adopted home of Germany.

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Wladimir saying nice things about Povetkin

wlad443IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitachko (60-3, 51 KO’s) isn’t doing much to try and ruffle the feathers of his Russian opponent WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO’s) ahead of their fight tomorrow night at the Olimpiyskiy, in Moscow, Russia.

Wladimir has been very complimentary of the 34-year-old Povetkin throughout the build-up to this fight to the point where it’s probably worked against both of them in generating interest in the fight.

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Klitschko vs. Povetkin & Cotto vs. Rodriguez headline Live HBO Boxing Saturday

wlad#4WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, HBO Sports’ flagship boxing series, presents a dynamite split-site tripleheader headlined by the return of two of the sport’s biggest stars on SATURDAY, OCT. 5. The action begins at 3:30 p.m. (live ET) with the heavyweight title fight WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO VS. ALEXANDER POVETKIN from SC Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow. Following a replay of the fight later that day at 9:45 p.m. (ET/PT), the doubleheader MIGUEL COTTO VS. DELVIN RODRIGUEZ AND TERENCE CRAWFORD VS. ANDREY KLIMOV will be presented from Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. (live ET/tape-delayed PT). The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino

Other HBO playdates: Oct. 6 (8:00 a.m.) and 7 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Oct. 6 (4:00 p.m.) and 8 (11:30 p.m.).

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