Wladimir Klitschko vs Alexander Povetkin

A purse bid of $23,333,330 finally brought together two unbeaten Olympic champions whose meeting had been discussed, ordered and postponed over several years. Russian promoter Vladimir Hryunov secured the rights with backing from businessman Andrey Ryabinsky, easily exceeding the rival offers from K2 Promotions and Sauerland Event. Under the WBA’s division of the purse, Wladimir Klitschko was entitled to $17,499,997 and Alexander Povetkin to $5,833,333, then the largest guarantees of their respective careers. The money produced the contest, although it could not guarantee a satisfactory one.

Klitschko defended his WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles, together with recognition from The Ring, before 14,000 spectators at the Olimpiyskiy indoor arena in Moscow on October 5, 2013. The 37-year-old Ukrainian weighed 242 pounds and entered with a record of 60-3, including 52 knockouts. Povetkin, four years younger, was unbeaten in 26 contests, had stopped 18 opponents and weighed 226 pounds. Klitschko had won Olympic super-heavyweight gold in 1996, and Povetkin had followed him eight years later. Povetkin also held the WBA’s secondary championship, but this was his first attempt to establish himself as the leading heavyweight in the division.

The physical difference dictated the tactics from the opening bell. Klitschko, four inches taller and nearly a stone heavier, kept his left hand extended and attempted to meet Povetkin with the jab whenever the challenger crossed into range. Povetkin crouched low and advanced in sudden rushes, looking to pass beneath the champion’s lead hand and deliver hooks at close quarters. Each time he reached the inside, however, Klitschko wrapped an arm around him, pressed down on his head or leaned his weight across the challenger’s back. Referee Luis Pabon repeatedly separated them but did little in the early rounds to discourage the holding.

Povetkin’s first serious mistake was punished late in the second round. As he came forward with his head moving towards Klitschko’s right, the champion stepped back sufficiently to create room and caught him with a short left hook. Povetkin fell to the canvas, the first knockdown of his professional career. It was not a heavy fall, and he rose without appearing badly hurt, but the incident demonstrated the danger involved in trying to close the distance without first occupying Klitschko’s hands.

The pattern became firmly established from the third through the sixth rounds. Povetkin continued to press, occasionally reaching the body or swinging a right hand over the jab, but he could not remain in punching position. Klitschko either moved back, caught him with the left or seized him as soon as their shoulders met. The champion’s jab was less continuous than in some of his better performances, yet it was sufficient to interrupt Povetkin’s advances. When Povetkin ducked too deeply, Klitschko placed his forearm across the back of the Russian’s neck and forced him towards the floor. The challenger expended considerable energy attempting to straighten himself beneath the heavier man.

The seventh round contained nearly all the decisive action. Klitschko put Povetkin down three times, although the manner of the falls varied. A straight right hand produced the clearest of the knockdowns, driving the challenger backwards and leaving him shaken. The other two followed untidy collisions in which punches were accompanied by Klitschko’s weight and forward pressure, and Povetkin appeared to be thrown or pushed as much as struck. Pabon nevertheless administered counts on each occasion. Povetkin rose every time and continued to advance, though his legs had lost some of their firmness and his face showed the effects of the champion’s accurate blows.

Having accumulated an overwhelming lead, Klitschko did not pursue the finish with any sustained urgency. The eighth, ninth and tenth rounds returned to the earlier routine. Povetkin moved forward doggedly, throwing hooks when he could find room, while Klitschko jabbed, stepped back and held whenever the challenger entered his chest. The Russian crowd encouraged Povetkin’s attacks, but effort could not compensate for the disparity in reach or for his inability to work after reaching the inside. Klitschko remained in control, though the spectacle deteriorated as the clinches multiplied. Contemporary counts placed the number at more than 160, most initiated by the champion.

Pabon finally penalised Klitschko in the 11th round after he forced Povetkin down once more. By then the deduction had no practical effect upon the result. Povetkin was tired and marked but continued attempting to close the distance, while Klitschko remained cautious and refused to give him the stationary target he required. The final round brought no reversal. Povetkin pressed until the bell and even continued briefly after it, but he had not found a method of turning determination into sustained attack.

All three judges returned identical scores of 119-104 for Klitschko. The four official knockdowns accounted for the unusually wide totals, while the champion’s lost point prevented a still greater margin. Klitschko landed 139 of 417 punches, a success rate of 33 per cent. Povetkin connected with only 59 of 283, or 21 per cent. Those figures reflected Klitschko’s superiority in clean punching, although they did not convey the full extent to which holding, leaning and pushing had shaped the contest.

The verdict was beyond dispute. Klitschko had scored the cleaner blows, produced the only knockdowns and won almost every round. Povetkin accepted afterwards that he had been beaten by the better man. His courage was equally plain: he rose four times, continued to advance and reached the final bell despite being physically controlled throughout. Yet his tactics lacked variation. He attacked mainly in straight lines, rarely jabbed his way into range and did not work effectively enough to the body when opportunities arose.

Klitschko’s performance was efficient rather than distinguished. His control of distance, judgement of the left hook and ability to punish Povetkin’s entries confirmed his superiority, but his repeated holding deprived the contest of sustained exchanges and should have drawn firmer intervention much earlier. He improved his record to 61-3 and completed the 15th defence of his second heavyweight championship reign. Povetkin suffered his first defeat and lost his secondary WBA title, but his subsequent career would show that he remained one of the division’s leading contenders. In Moscow, however, his persistence was met by a champion too large, too experienced and too accomplished at preventing the challenger from fighting the contest he required.

This was one of Klitschko’s ugliest title defences. Povetkin was unbeaten, full of confidence and convinced he could crowd the champion out of his stride. His low, dipping movement did trouble Klitschko because it took away the clean target for the jab and made the right hand difficult to release safely.

The problem was that Klitschko never really solved it with boxing. He solved it by grabbing Povetkin, leaning his weight on him and pushing his head towards the floor. It was effective, but dreadful to watch. Povetkin kept charging forward, though he often came in without a jab and from too far out. Against a man of Klitschko’s size, that left him walking into the left hook or becoming trapped underneath the champion’s arms.

The knockdown in the second was a lovely short hook. The three falls in the seventh looked more mixed; one came from a proper right hand, while the others involved plenty of shoving and wrestling. Povetkin showed tremendous resolve by continuing, but courage alone could not change the pattern.

Klitschko won comfortably, and the decision was correct. Even so, the referee should have acted against the holding much earlier. It was ring control in the broadest sense, but hardly a performance to persuade anyone that heavyweight boxing was in good health.