Boxing: Povetkin in Portrait: Putin’s Knight in the Ring

In his last fight Alexander Povetkin beat his opponent in hospital. Now no less than Anthony Joshua (Sa., 22.50 o’clock live on DAZN) waits for the 38-year-old, who also makes his headlines beside the ring. As a doping sinner, friend of Russia’s President Waldimir Putin and a burning nationalist, Povetkin is a controversial figure.

For the third time in this seventh round he fell onto the mat. Never particularly hard, yet marked by the exhaustion of the last few minutes, Alexander Povetkin’s first professional defeat came closer and closer on this October day in 2013. Dr. Steelhammer’s blows had left their mark. He struggled to stand up to the referee’s counting fingers, which at that moment seemed so threatening, and somehow tortured himself until the end of the twelfth round.

Although Povetkin escaped the knockout, the result of the impartial was nevertheless unanimous: defeat on points against Vladimir Klitschko. The regular WBA World Champion title was lost – and this against the man who made it possible for him to wear the belt due to his status as Superchampion (Champion of the IBF, WBO and WBA). That was the only reason why Povetkin was able to crown himself world champion in 2011 by beating Ruslan Chagayev.

The fact that the “Russian knight”, according to Povetkin’s battle name, has what it takes to win the title, became apparent very early on. At times he dominated the amateur field at will, celebrated over 100 victories, became World Champion (2003) and Olympic Champion of Athens.

Povetkin was so good that Wilfried Sauerland’s boxing stable signed him in 2005 and he made his professional debut in the same year. The career started with a Technical knockout win over Muhammed Ali Durma and led from triumph to triumph thanks to his aggressive, fast stroke technique – until the left jib qualified as Klitschko’s obligatory challenger.

However, because Povetkin injured himself in preparation for the duel of his life at the ankle and was out of action for nine months, the encounter was delayed. A new date was found, but instead of facing Klitschko, he cut the official press conference without excuse and did not sign the contract on time. The fight burst again.

“I said from the beginning that I needed more time,” Povetkin’s then coach Teddy Atlas, who once worked with Mike Tyson, confessed later: “I didn’t want to have the fight right away. Give me more time with him. It gets in the way of money for me, too. I’ve decided to do what’s best for my fighter.”

In the end, it wasn’t worth the years of waiting. Povetkin lost the fight that took place years later and suffered a political defeat for many in addition to the sporting one. After all, it was not just a duel for numerous association titles, but also a battle between Russia (Povetkin) and Ukraine (Klitschko), at a time when the fronts of both countries were hardening more and more.

It is therefore no coincidence that the Kremlin interfered in the matter and, through the state oil company Rosneft, spent many millions of dollars to bring the fight to Moscow. And if the TV stations hadn’t decided against it, the fight would have taken place on October 7, the 61st birthday of Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president, himself a black belt wearer in judo, is considered a sports and especially a martial arts enthusiast. But beyond that, he and Povetkin have something else in common: politics. The boxer is a member of parliament in his native region of Kursk and a member of the Kremlin party United Russia, which supports Putin’s course. So it was not for nothing that Povetkin showed great respect for his head of state and praised him “because he never gives up and supports us athletes”.

He, who has tattooed the Slavic God of Heaven and is a confessing follower of the Russian Orthodox Church, likes the nationalist idea. With other tattoos such as the Russian Star on his left upper arm and T-shirts worn openly, which show not only tsars and Russian commanders but also a Russian swastika, Povetkin likes to promote this worldview to the outside world.

It is an ideology that brings a lot of criticism to the 38-year-old in this country, but does not change his sporting talent. After all, he quickly recovered from the Klitschko slap and all of his next fights were victorious. Povetkin fought so successfully that the next Boxerian feast was prepared for May 2016: a duel with Deontay Wilder.

However, the exchange of blows with the “Bronze Bomber” never took place. A positive doping test on the drug Meldonium, which was already Maria Sharapova’s fate, not only stopped the fight but also opened the darkest chapter in Povetkin’s sports career to date.

This is not how it should be with a one-time slip. Only eight months after the first finding, those responsible for a second offence convicted him. This time, 0.0000000000001 grams of Ostarin provided the next bad awakening, which resulted in a fine of 250,000 dollars and a one-year ban, initially designed for life.

For the boxing tsar, however, no reason to hang up the leather gloves. He returned to the ring in 2017 and took further victories for his CV before being accepted into the Fightcard of the title fight between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker at the end of March this year.

While the main match did not offer the expected top-class boxing, the secret highlight of the evening was Povetkin’s fist duel with David Price. He sent the Brit with a huge blow on the boards in round five – nasal bone fracture followed by a visit to the hospital. The knockout was so hard that the referee didn’t even count Price before he finished the fight.

With this success behind him, Povetkin should be prepared for the duel with Joshua (Sat., 22.50 h live on DAZN). Even though Joshua, the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO title holder, is the favourite, he still has respect for Russia’s heavyweight figurehead. “Povetkin is a serious opponent, for which I will prepare myself carefully,” Joshua stressed: “He has many years of experience and only an idiot would underestimate what he can achieve.

Povetkin must then rely on his aggressiveness, with which, coupled with the efficiency of his blows, he may well be able to destroy Joshua’s rhythm. This tactic must bear fruit, otherwise his physical deficit – ten centimetres smaller and 16 centimetres less range – will be his downfall. And the mat at Wembley Stadium would call out for him at least as eagerly as it did in the fight against Klitschko.