Alexander Povetkin cruised to an unanimous points victory over Eddie Chambers to become the next mandatory challenger to IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko. The White Lion (15-0, 11 KOs) impressively outworked his opponent with heavy combinations to head and body and was ahead 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112 on the scorecards. “It was a very tough fight,” Povetkin said after 12 action-filled rounds. “I am happy to have won. It´s my goal to become world champion and I moved one step closer today..”
Constantly on the front foot, the 2004 Olympic gold medal winner wore Chambers down with his tireless work. “I had expected a different fight and a different Chambers,” Povetkin admitted. “It took me a while to adjust.”
Indeed, the previously unbeaten American landed a few big shots early doors, firing in heavy rights. But after the third round, Povetkin took over. “Alexander is a very strong fighter and when he stepped it up I could not keep up with him,” a frustrated Chambers (30-1, 16 KOs) said after the first loss of his career. “I did not stick to the game plan and only have myself to blame.”
Much to the delight of the sell-out crowd in Berlin´s Tempodrom, the final IBF eliminator was an entertaining issue, with Povetkin being the aggressor throughout. “Alexander proved that he can create a lot of pressure during the entire 12 rounds,” Wilfried Sauerland praised afterwards. “I was surprised how many shots Chambers could take. He really displayed a great defensive effort.” Sauerland revealed Povetkin was close to pulling out of the fight after turning sick during the final preparation. “He had to take antibiotics and we had almost postponed the fight so I was impressed by his high energy level today,” added the co-manager.
Povetkin, the IBF´s new number one, will now await the outcome of the February 23 meeting between champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBO titlist Sultan Ibragimov. “It would be an honor to fight both of them,” Povetkin said. “But I haven´t really had much time to think about it. We´ll see who wins. We´ll be prepared.” Sauerland is confident the highly-anticipated meeting between Povetkin and Klitschko will go down this summer – even though “Klitschko´s lawyer already told us they will try to keep us waiting as long as possible”.
In the second main fight, European middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester outclassed Frenchman Francois Bastient. The Hurricane was ahead 120-108, 118-109 and 119-108 after twelve lopsided rounds. “I am pleased with my performance,” Sylvester said. “Everything went according to plan. I have big goals for 2008 and this was a great first step. I want to become world champion.” The 27-year-old (28-2, 13 KOs) did well to keep his offensive-minded opponent (33-6, 15 KOs) at bay throughout the whole fight while cleverly tearing him apart with well-placed shots. In the eighth, he knocked him down with a huge body shot. Bastient prevailed but never threatened.
Next up for Sylvester, who also defended his WBA intercontinental title, could be a meeting with top-ranked WBA challenger Javier Castillejo. “We want to keep moving up the WBA rankings,“ Sauerland managing director Chris Meyer said. “If Sebastian defeats their number one, he would be the mandatory challenger of Felix Sturm. That would be very interesting.”
On the undercard, Sauerland´s first female fighter “First Lady” Cecilia Braekhus scored a fourth-round TKO victory over Wanda Pena Ozuna. A furious assault in the middle of the round urged Ozuna´s corner to throw the towel.