Some fans, upon reading the above headline, will no doubt scream, hell, yeah, of course, Alexander Povetkin should retire! While others may say that, no, three strikes against you doesn’t mean you’re out in boxing. It’s now up to Povetkin himself to decide what he will do next. The Russian warrior has enjoyed a very good career – he was an amateur standout, his amateur career capped by an Olympic gold medal win, he is a former WBA heavyweight champion, and as we all know, Povetkin engaged in plenty of big fights and he scored a number of big wins along the way – but the 41-year-old was badly beaten by Dillian Whyte in their rematch last night. Some fans, taking to the various forums, went as far as to say Povetkin looked awful last night. Povetkin couldn’t get out of the way of Whyte’s big bombs, that’s for sure.
In fact, aside from his raw courage, Povetkin’s only impressive asset was his chin, his incredible ability to take a good shot. How Povetkin stood up to some of Whyte’s heavy shots, that landed flush too many times, we will never know. But taking hard shots like the ones he took last night is a bad thing for an aging fighter, and Povetkin has to think long and hard about his future. Whyte did say he’d give Povetkin a rematch, perhaps out of respect more than anything like really wanting to do it, but there really is no need for a third duel between these two. Whyte made a big mistake in the first fight, he paid for it, but he will never let Povetkin either get lucky or lure him into a trap again. If Povetkin does fight on, it will have to be against someone other than Whyte.
Povetkin is of course a big name and he will continue to be so for however long he does carry on fighting, but is there any big fight opportunity out there for him right now? Does Povetkin really want to work his way back up the contender ladder? Worse still as far as a possible scenario facing him if he does carry on fighting, does Povetkin want to become a stepping stone? As far as Povetkin’s financial status goes, we don’t know if he’s comfortable or if he might need to carry on fighting. After all, he’s been through during his 40-fight, 16-year pro career, it is hoped Povetkin has kept most of the money he earned the hard way.
Povetkin, 36-3-1(25) revived his career with that big upset win over Whyte last August, but was that his last great performance/last big effort? Judging by his showing last night, it seems so. Povetkin fought the very best throughout his career – Wladimir Klitschko, Anthony Joshua, Chris Byrd, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Marco Huck, Dillian Whyte. Most people would be more than satisfied with the career “Sasha” had. But Povetkin is his own man and he will make up his own mind. After all he’s been through, after all he’s contributed to the great sport of boxing, Alexander Povetkin more than deserves the right to go out on his own terms. But again, it will be one tough, potentially long road back if Povetkin does decide to fight on.
What do YOU think, should Povetkin hang ’em up?