Joshua should stay away from Povetkin

[Ilya Muromets]

...and Wilder should stay very far away!

Povetkin will get inside and make short work of the pumped up steroid dopers Joshua and Wilder. He will just have to be careful not to be hit by a lucky punch.

If Fury does manage to get in shape and come back, Povetkin vs Fury will be an interesting fight in a year or two.

[Kalan]

Alexander Povetkin is a great Heavyweight -- but he couldn't win a round from Wladimir Klitschko in his prime... The only point AP got in that fight, was awarded to him to make Wladimir stop grabbing, wrestling, holding and throwing the smaller Povetkin to the canvas and basically manhandling him... Whenever Povetkin got close enough to clout his taller, longer, and stronger opponent he got locked up tight... and couldn't get many good hits on Wladimir...

He needed a KO to win and didn't have a prayer in Hell -- but Joshua knocked Wlad down 3 X and blew him away.

Joshua doesn't take steroids or PED's of any kind and never has... He has specialists in his camp whose job it is to make sure he doesn't accidentally absorb anything that's illegal... When you're making 10's of millions of dollars a year, you can't afford to accidentally ingest one of the hundreds of substances currently on the banned list and sit out like Dillian Whyte and other dumb shitts who absorbed something illegal from their nasal decongestant or whatever.

AJ will be a massive favorite over Povetkin -- who doesn't appear to be aging as well as Klitschko... He's tailing way off since he turned 38... Wladimir butchered Pulev at 38 and looked better than ever... At 39 Wlad started going down.

[candyslim]

Anyone think Povetkin would beat Usyk? I'd favour Usyk now I think.

[Mexi-Box]

Alexander Povetkin is a great Heavyweight -- but he couldn't win a round from Wladimir Klitschko in his prime... The only point AP got in that fight, was awarded to him to make Wladimir stop grabbing, wrestling, holding and throwing the smaller Povetkin to the canvas and basically manhandling him... Whenever Povetkin got close enough to clout his taller, longer, and stronger opponent he got locked up tight... and couldn't get many good hits on Wladimir...

He needed a KO to win and didn't have a prayer in Hell -- but Joshua knocked Wlad down 3 X and blew him away.

Joshua doesn't take steroids or PED's of any kind and never has... He has specialists in his camp whose job it is to make sure he doesn't accidentally absorb anything that's illegal... When you're making 10's of millions of dollars a year, you can't afford to accidentally ingest one of the hundreds of substances currently on the banned list and sit out like Dillian Whyte and other dumb shitts who absorbed something illegal from their nasal decongestant or whatever.

AJ will be a massive favorite over Povetkin -- who doesn't appear to be aging as well as Klitschko... He's tailing way off since he turned 38... Wladimir butchered Pulev at 38 and looked better than ever... At 39 Wlad started going down.

Klitschko was more in his prime than Povetkin. Povetkin was chubby and wasn't training hard at all from what I remember that speech he made in his comeback. I'd say Povetkin had a very short prime. It was during that gauntlet from Charr to Duhaupus that he looked near unstoppable.

Also, that is COMPLETE BS. Joshua has all the side-effects of roiding (roid gut and weight).

[Ilya Muromets]

Joshua and Wilder show evidence of steroid use; Povetkin does not.

I'm a big fan of the Klitschko brothers and always was, but when Wlad fought Povetkin he was like a f'g octopus. The ref should have stopped him. I didn't even appreciate how bad Wlad's holding was when I originally watched it but when I watched the replay it was awful.

Usyk is damn good. If the heavyweight division was broken up into more than one, two at least, like heavy and super heavy, then he could move up to heavy, or maybe he could even now.

[Kalan]

Joshua and Wilder show evidence of steroid use; Povetkin does not.

I'm a big fan of the Klitschko brothers and always was, but when Wlad fought Povetkin he was like a f'g octopus. The ref should have stopped him. I didn't even appreciate how bad Wlad's holding was when I originally watched it but when I watched the replay it was awful.

Usyk is damn good. If the heavyweight division was broken up into more than one, two at least, like heavy and super heavy, then he could move up to heavy, or maybe he could even now

Joshua shows ZERO evidence of steroid use... He's mild mannered without a ripple on his skin... His muscularity is balanced, proportionate, and functional... He's the best boxer in the division with the possible exception of Luis Ortiz who is getting past it because of his age... There is no reason to accuse Joshua of PED use unless you're a hater, which from the tone of your posts it seems like you might be...

Povetkin never took PEDs as well, but he has a lot of haters in America and this is what haters do.... They try to destroy people and they've effectively destroyed Povetkin's career with these accusations.

I don't see what Usyk has do to with this discussion... He's the best Cruiserweight in the world... Joshua is the best Heavyweight in the world... Usyk is 3 years older than Joshua (31 next month) and it's unlikely he'll develop into a Heavyweight soon enough to have any chance of beating AJ, who will only get better over the next 3 years.

But Usyk has a great fight coming up with undefeated, 23-0 Mairis Breidis next month... There's a chance for an upset so it's a wonder there isn't more discussion about that matchup on this board... Maybe because it's an Eastern European venue and involves 2 Eastern European athletes.

[Ilya Muromets]

Yes Usyk vs Breidis is a great fight coming up on Jan. 27th and I agree it should be discussed more.

As for Joshua, he gained 30 pounds of muscle and zero fat in three years. Other boxers, like Dillon Whyte and Big Baby Miller, have come right out and said he's a drug user. He is also a convicted drug dealer. By contrast Povetkin is fighting at the exact same weight that he started at as a pro in 2005!

[candyslim]

Joshua is constantly being tested. Eddie Hearn said that in the run up to the Takam fight including on the day of the fight, Joshua was drug-tested 14 times by 4 different agencies including VADA and UKAD.
If this statement was bullshit there are people who would know that to be the case and would enjoy exposing it as such.

I've mentioned this twice before. Nobody has challenged this yet I still keep reading Joshua is on steroids. Are his accusers denying the claim that he has undergone frequent random testing since his days as an amateur internationa,l because if they aren't, how do they suggest he has managed to evade justice?

Kalan asks what Usyk has got to do with this discussion? Nothing really except I thought Povetkin v Usyk would be an intriguing match between two skillful fighters of similar height and reach with the added spice of local Russia v Ukraine rivalry. Would Povetkin's weight advantage off-set Usyk's freshness and comparative youth?

I agree the Briedis fight should be good but I'm expecting a comfortable win for the Ukrainian.

[Verdi]

I'd hardly call Wilder pumped up. 6ft7 and 15.5 stone is pretty skinny IMO.

[candyslim]

Must have been referring to his resumé.

[geronimo]

I see Povetkin losing against Joshua. Of course Joshua has more power, reach advantage and also better footwork. Let's see the fight that both had against Takam: it's a fact that Povetkin brutally KO'ed Takam, but until the KO was a close and competitive match, Joshua, instead, won any single round. If this fight will happen, i would say 80/20 in favour of Joshua.

[handsofstone]

Povetkin is effing gash these days, was the OP seriously impressed with him against Hammer?, as for the comment about no evidence of him juicing that must be a pisstake, he looked suspiciously lean last week and his performance was weak

Povetkin used to be a top HW but he looks finished now

[candyslim]

The prodigious power demonstrated by Povetkin in knocking out Takam and demolishing Duhaupas for example, appears (judging from Rudenko and Hammer) to have inexplicably deserted him. How is he going to be able to keep someone like Joshua at bay if he doesn't have the power to make his opponent respectful?

He needs to recover that power but how? Maybe he should do what I sometimes do when I have some kind of affliction, and seek advice from his pharmacist

[jamamb]

Povetkin is effing gash these days, was the OP seriously impressed with him against Hammer?, as for the comment about no evidence of him juicing that must be a pisstake, he looked suspiciously lean last week and his performance was weak

Povetkin used to be a top HW but he looks finished now

gash...who wud u rank above him then.

[MarkMcBurney]

Joshua is constantly being tested. Eddie Hearn said that in the run up to the Takam fight including on the day of the fight, Joshua was drug-tested 14 times by 4 different agencies including VADA and UKAD.
If this statement was bullshit there are people who would know that to be the case and would enjoy exposing it as such.

I've mentioned this twice before. Nobody has challenged this yet I still keep reading Joshua is on steroids. Are his accusers denying the claim that he has undergone frequent random testing since his days as an amateur internationa,l because if they aren't, how do they suggest he has managed to evade justice?

Kalan asks what Usyk has got to do with this discussion? Nothing really except I thought Povetkin v Usyk would be an intriguing match between two skillful fighters of similar height and reach with the added spice of local Russia v Ukraine rivalry. Would Povetkin's weight advantage off-set Usyk's freshness and comparative youth?

I agree the Briedis fight should be good but I'm expecting a comfortable win for the Ukrainian.

I don't believe personally that the amount of tests someone like Joshua undergoes prove anything, having heard the stories of the likes of Lance Armstrong and the Russian state doping (Icarus is a very interesting documentary). The fact is, testing is always one step behind those using, and there are a million and one masking agents that mean if you make enough money, generally you can get away with it. Armstrong never failed a test, he admitted it all, remember.

I think it's suspect that AJ has a very, very pronounced jawline compared to when he won the Olympics, and has a classic looking roid gut, as well as the phenomenal weight gain that even professional bodybuilders can't manage.

Just my opinion, not saying anyone is categorically doing anything they shouldn't, but I can definitely see where the suspicions come from.

[candyslim]

Well I'm not going to believe that of Joshua without proof, which is perhaps a little hypocritical of me in that I'm willing to entertain suspicions about Povetkin based on appearances, mainly performance related. In my defense I'm not entirely decided one way or the other, and unlike Joshua there have been failed tests albeit hardly conclusive and not without controversy.

It seems extraordinary to me that AJ could survive so many tests over such a long period but I don't know enough about it to give you an argument.

Although I remain highly skeptical I do thank you Mark for addressing the point I raised (three times now) which no one else has done.

[handsofstone]

Povetkin is effing gash these days, was the OP seriously impressed with him against Hammer?, as for the comment about no evidence of him juicing that must be a pisstake, he looked suspiciously lean last week and his performance was weak

Povetkin used to be a top HW but he looks finished now

gash...who wud u rank above him then.

Yer maws gash

[jamamb]

well that goes w/o saying. but since u think pov is gash too just curious where in the division youd rate him.

[MarkMcBurney]

Well I'm not going to believe that of Joshua without proof, which is perhaps a little hypocritical of me in that I'm willing to entertain suspicions about Povetkin based on appearances, mainly performance related. In my defense I'm not entirely decided one way or the other, and unlike Joshua there have been failed tests albeit hardly conclusive and not without controversy.

It seems extraordinary to me that AJ could survive so many tests over such a long period but I don't know enough about it to give you an argument.

Although I remain highly skeptical I do thank you Mark for addressing the point I raised (three times now) which no one else has done.

[Heretic]

The prodigious power demonstrated by Povetkin in knocking out Takam and demolishing Duhaupas for example, appears (judging from Rudenko and Hammer) to have inexplicably deserted him.

Did you watch the Hammer fight? I would not make any assumptions about fighters punching power against a guy that is only there to survive. Hammer was throwing something like ten punches per round, had his high guard constantly up and was clinching the whole fight. Octopuses are hard to KO

[Tony1244]

Alexander Povetkin is a great Heavyweight -- but he couldn't win a round from Wladimir Klitschko in his prime... T

If he can't win a round from Wlad he is not a great heavyweight. Maybe a good HW.

[danconnollyeire]

...and Wilder should stay very far away!

Povetkin will get inside and make short work of the pumped up steroid dopers Joshua and Wilder. He will just have to be careful not to be hit by a lucky punch.

If Fury does manage to get in shape and come back, Povetkin vs Fury will be an interesting fight in a year or two.

Translation Fvck, crack is good

[handsofstone]

well that goes w/o saying. but since u think pov is gash too just curious where in the division youd rate him.

Apologies mate I thought you used the word "gash" first

Povetkin has been a top heavyweight but your only as impressive as your last fight and that's the last 2 performances of his that have been pedestrian, I don't think he's got enough left to beat the likes of Joshua, Wilder, Parker(close fight) a few Cruiserweights would beat him as well IMO

[klitoris]

Joshua makes quick work of Povetkin. Wilder, not so sure since I think that chin is suspect.
If Huck basically was on the level of Povetkin a couple of year ago, I think now Parker would beat Povetkin with fair judging.

[greg]

...at this point I haven't seen Povetkin being clearly outboxed by anyone, Kltschko-Povetkin falls more into a wrestling category than a boxing match..Parker struggling with Fury would have been a very easy prey to Povetkin 2-10 years ago..