Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin

Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between undefeated and unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO champion Anthony Joshua, and former WBA (Regular) champion Alexander Povetkin. The bout took place on 22 September 2018 at the Wembley Stadium in London, England. Joshua defeated Povetkin, retaining his heavyweight titles via seventh-round technical knockout (TKO).

Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin
Date22 September 2018
VenueWembley Stadium, London, England
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Anthony Joshua Alexander Povetkin
Nickname AJ Sasha
Hometown Watford, Hertfordshire, England Kursk, Russia
Pre-fight record 21–0 (20 KOs) 34–1 (24 KOs)
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 245 lb (111 kg) 222 lb (101 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion WBA No. 1 ranked heavyweight
Result
Joshua defeated Povetkin in the seventh-round by TKO

Background

Following Povetkin's twelve-round unanimous decision (UD) victory over Christian Hammer in December 2017, the WBA installed Povetkin as their mandatory challenger to Joshua's WBA (Super) title.[1]

Joshua defeated Joseph Parker in March 2018 by UD to capture the WBO title, with Povetkin appearing on the undercard, defeating David Price via fifth-round knockout (KO).[2] The following month, the WBA ordered Joshua to enter into negotiations for a fight with Povetkin within 30 days.[3] During this time, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, was also attempting to negotiate an undisputed fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder. After the WBA granted several extensions to their deadline in order to facilitate the negotiations with Wilder, they gave Joshua 24 hours on 26 June to provide a signed contract with Povetkin or risk being stripped of his WBA (Super) title.[4] On 16 July, Joshua vs. Povetkin was officially announced to take place on 22 September at the Wembley Stadium in London.[5]

The Fight

After a tentative start to the opening round which saw neither fighter land significant punches, Povetkin landed a three-punch combination ending with a left hook in the final seconds of the round, momentarily stunning Joshua and leaving the champion with a broken and bloodied nose. The action picked up in the second, with Povetkin landing hooks to the head and body at close range while Joshua, opting to fight at a distance to utilise his height and reach advantage, landed jabs and straight-right hands to the head and body. Povetkin suffered a cut above his right eye towards the end of the round. Rounds three through six saw much of the same; Povetkin finding success up close with hooks and Joshua with jabs and straight right hands at range. Povetkin suffered a cut above his left eye in round four.[6] Halfway through the seventh round, Joshua landed a right hand which visibly stunned Povetkin.[7] After several follow up punches, Joshua landed a left-hook right-hand combination, knocking Povetkin to the canvas. Povetkin rose to his feet before the referee's count of ten, only to be met by a flurry of punches while against the ropes, prompting referee Steve Gray to wave off the fight, at 1 minute and 59 seconds into the round, after which Povetkin stumbled and fell to the canvas for a second time.[8] At the time of the stoppage, all three judges' had Joshua ahead on the scorecards at 59–55, and 58–56 twice.[9]

Fight card
Weight Class vs. Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Anthony Joshua (c) def. Alexander Povetkin TKO 7/12 1:59 Note 1
Lightweight Luke Campbell def. Yvan Mendy UD 12 Note 2
Cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie def. Matty Askin (c) UD 12 Note 3
Heavyweight Sergey Kuzmin def. David Price RTD 4/10 3:00 Note 4
Welterweight Shakhram Giyasov def. Julio Laguna TKO 4/6 0:38

^Note 1 For WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
^Note 2 WBC lightweight final eliminator
^Note 3 For British cruiserweight title
^Note 4 For vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title

References
  1. Hobbs, Tim (16 December 2017). "Alexander Povetkin beats Christian Hammer to become Anthony Joshua's WBA mandatory challenger". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. Pearlman, Michael (31 March 2018). "David Price suffers fifth-round knockout by Alexander Povetkin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. Nevin, Sean (6 April 2018). "Joshua ordered to fight Povetkin next by WBA". ESPN.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. Idec, Keith (28 June 2018). "Hearn: Joshua Needed Wilder to Sign to Get Exemption From WBA". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. Idec, Keith (16 July 2018). "Joshua-Povetkin Officially Announced; 9/22 at Wembley Stadium". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. Campbell, Brian (22 September 2018). "Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin results: Joshua earns TKO in defense of unified heavyweight title". www.cbssports.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  7. Ingle, Sean (23 September 2018). "Anthony Joshua shows power of a true champion against Povetkin | Sean Ingle". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. Davies, Gareth A. (22 September 2018). "Anthony Joshua KOs Alexander Povetkin in seven rounds to reaffirm status as world's leading heavyweight". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. "BoxRec: Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin". boxrec.com. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
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