Can Alexander Povetkin repeat his big win over Dillian Whyte? The rematch is set for November and 41 year old Povetkin is confident he can and will defeat Whyte a second time. Then, as his promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy explained when speaking with Sky Sports, Povetkin will target a shot at WBC heavyweight ruler Tyson Fury (who must first come through okay in his third fight with former WBC champ Deontay Wilder; tentatively set for December 19).
Povetkin “is only happy to box with the strongest opponents,” Ryabinskiy said, “so of course” the former WBA heavyweight champ wants to fight Fury.
“We will work in this direction,” Ryabinskiy said with regards to a fight with Fury. “The fight for the world title is a big event in the career of any fighter, and with every reason for this, of course we will seek a mandatory defence from the WBC. If such a fight takes place (Fury Vs Povetkin), it will really become an event in the boxing world, no matter where it takes place; in Russia or in any other country. You know, Sasha has a very simple answer to this [does he want to fight Fury]. Champion, you say? Hadn’t lost yet? Does everyone consider him the strongest in the division? Then, of course, I want to box with him!”
Say what you want about Povetkin, but he sure has proven time and again how he is a fighter who is willing the fight just abut anybody – Wladimir Klitschko, Anthony Joshua, Marco Huck, Ruslan Chagaev, David Price, Michael Hunter, Whyte (twice) and now Fury. Very much a throwback fighter in this regard, Povetkin showed in the Whyte fight how very dangerous he can be. But could Povetkin get to Fury? Povetkin is of course used to giving away both height and reach, but never has he fought any fighter with Fury’s physical attributes.
Let’s see if Povetkin, 36-2-1(25) can indeed repeat his win over Whyte before we seriously look at his chances of causing the sensation of dethroning Fury. But already, Ryabinskiy has a venue in mind: the 80,000 Luzhni Stadium in Russia. “Why not?” Ryabinskiy asked. Who knows what may or may not unfold in the heavyweight division in 2021.