Round-by-Round: Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte II - 27 March 2021

[stujones]

Can't get over how bad Pov looked coming down that ramp, horrendous sight. Time is right to hang them up regardless, he's had a good career.

I remember how bad Hasim Rahman looked in the ring walk vs Povetkin on the undercard of Haye vs Chisora - that was equally sad.

[stujones]

Really when you step back and take a good look ,, It shows hao bad the heavyweight division is ,, Pov well like everyone is saying is well past it , but Whyte , really supposed to be a top 5 world class boxer ,, he can't throw a punch without throwing himself off balance the amount of times he threw his right foot up with his right hand and for that split second was off balance was nothing short of disgraceful , that his trainers hav'nt picked it up ,, , all this fight showed , was that Whyte really is'nt very good , his opponents are just worst .

Personaly i think Wilder stops him , and i thik if Ruiz gets the blub off he outboxes just about all off them ,, Ruiz biggest enemy has been himself , but he boxes rings around Whyte or Wilder if he's in shape ,, just a shame they earn that much money even though there out of shape , that they can afford to come in either out of shape , or just not even bothering to learn any skills

Whyte specifically mentioned he’d been working hard on not lifting his foot up when he punched !

Yes - lets not forget Whyte lost more rounds (officially, let alone unofficially where many thought he lost fight 1) against Derek Chisora. The fact that Chisora can still headline PPV's with 10 defeats on his resume and at pushing 40 says alot about the division - and Chisora and Whyte are on the same level.

I have been saying for a while, I honestly think Joshua took something out of Whyte. His balance is shocking, constantly looks like he is tired (when he's not) and his punch resistance also isn't that good. I wouldn't describe Chisora, Parker, Rivas or Helenius huge punchers - they've all had Whyte badly hurt (or at least seemingly so cos his balance is so poor) - that's why I went for Povetkin in fight one, first truly world class puncher he faced.

Heavyweight division is really really poor - I don't think 1 and 2 are all that in the grand scheme of all time great champions - but yes definately far and away the best of this lot.

[KiwiRider]

Better be a good card.
This isn't being shown on Sky box office in my country, so I had to join DAZN just to watch it.

How much is DAZN in your area?

$3(1.50£) a month.

[coneye]

Really when you step back and take a good look ,, It shows hao bad the heavyweight division is ,, Pov well like everyone is saying is well past it , but Whyte , really supposed to be a top 5 world class boxer ,, he can't throw a punch without throwing himself off balance the amount of times he threw his right foot up with his right hand and for that split second was off balance was nothing short of disgraceful , that his trainers hav'nt picked it up ,, , all this fight showed , was that Whyte really is'nt very good , his opponents are just worst .

Personaly i think Wilder stops him , and i thik if Ruiz gets the blub off he outboxes just about all off them ,, Ruiz biggest enemy has been himself , but he boxes rings around Whyte or Wilder if he's in shape ,, just a shame they earn that much money even though there out of shape , that they can afford to come in either out of shape , or just not even bothering to learn any skills

Exactly. The talent pool at heavyweight is gash.

I think that’s harsh - on Fury in particular.
He’s improving all the time. A 6’8 19-stone switch-hitting southpaw gives anyone in history problems at the very least. Lennox is the only one I pick to handle him easily.
AJ is a fun challenger with a puncher’s chance against the best too.
I know the modern era has nowhere near the skillz of the 70s or 90s but they’re so much bigger !

Can you really pick Smokin’ Joe or The Real Deal against (soon to be in his) prime Fury ?!

Fury and AJ ARE PERHAPS THE ONLY TWO who i would say are half decent ,, i would include Ruiz , but the fat bastard can't even be bothered getting in shape for fights , he's got the skills but not the dedication .

Regards the older boxers against Fury and AJ though i would most definetly give , Frazier , HOLLYFIELD , Norton and the likes a shot and a good chance ,, course AJ and Fury are monsters , they are BIG BIG men , and a good big en will always beat a good little un ,,,, BUT these guys were better and more skilled than the present crop including Fury ,,, Tyson has skills he can move well for a big man ,, but its been proved he gets hit hard and he will go down ,,, Frazier , Norton hit a lot harder than Cunnngham ,, plus they had the speed , and the footwork to cut Fury down and catch him ,, .

AJ and Fury stand out in a very very poor division , with fighters who are not learning the skills like the older guys did , and being conditioned by weight trainers and sports trainers , who have ltd knoledge on what it takes , there training guys from out of a book not from experience , Eddie Futch ,, Dundee and the like , did'nt need a sports scientist / slash nutritionist to tell them there fighter was over weight and losing stamina ,, they would loook at them walking in the gym and say , you've put 3 pnds on get it off ,, they spent there time , slipping , punching and moving with boxing drills ,, not hooked up to a machine with the science coach telling them your metabolic rate is bla bla bla , and dazzling them with science to make themselves relevent ,, and NO one can tell me all this stuff has'nt had a negative impact on the teaching of boxers , thats why i think most of the old time guys would eat up the present crop

[KiwiRider]

Ted Cheeseman always manages to entertain.
Enjoyed that fight a lot. He is learning defence and patience bit by bit. Metcalf has a good chin, got popped hard early and regrouped.
As for Povetkin, the dude was drained of legs from the start.

[coneye]

Ted Cheeseman always manages to entertain.
Enjoyed that fight a lot. He is learning defence and patience bit by bit. Metcalf has a good chin, got popped hard early and regrouped.
As for Povetkin, the dude was drained of legs from the start.

Agree , Cheesman is defo value for money ,, would worry about him if he was my son , will say he's one of them guys who i sincerly hope has a good rapport with his trainer , and will listen if they say time to pack it in ,,, He just gets hit a lot , and its not from lack of skills or anything , just that he's not head and shoulders above his competition so he will mostly be involved in wars , defo good value though

[bigjack]

Can't get over how bad Pov looked coming down that ramp, horrendous sight. Time is right to hang them up regardless, he's had a good career.

I remember how bad Hasim Rahman looked in the ring walk vs Povetkin on the undercard of Haye vs Chisora - that was equally sad.

Think you have got that mixed up with another show

[stujones]

Yeah just checked. It was originally scheduled for Haye vs Chisora, but it headlined it's own card shown on allegedly....and Rahman looked awful

[KiwiRider]

Ted Cheeseman always manages to entertain.
Enjoyed that fight a lot. He is learning defence and patience bit by bit. Metcalf has a good chin, got popped hard early and regrouped.
As for Povetkin, the dude was drained of legs from the start.

Agree , Cheesman is defo value for money ,, would worry about him if he was my son , will say he's one of them guys who i sincerly hope has a good rapport with his trainer , and will listen if they say time to pack it in ,,, He just gets hit a lot , and its not from lack of skills or anything , just that he's not head and shoulders above his competition so he will mostly be involved in wars , defo good value though

As soon as I adjusted my expectations with Cheeseman (I was quite hyped on him) he has continued to noticeably improve. Still, he did revert to old form later in the fight and will hopefully see that doesn't work for him with a tough live opponent.

[kbackup408]

Loving these left hooks, not sure if any of the lads caught up with the action from Vegas - nasty short left hooks from Francis!

[handsofstone]

I had a mate up for the fight and as soon as i seen Povetkin walk to the ring i just got flashbacks to the Rahman fight, its the only other time I can remember seeing a fighters legs ready to go before they're even in the ring, the circle of life i suppose , Rahman and Povetkin both made more than enough money to have to go through that

[Twinkle Toes]

Povetkin's legs where bad in the first fight too, bit it get's forgotten because of the knockout.

It was a sorry sight last night, uncomfortable viewing. I expected Whyte to walk through Povetkin and that's what he did.

I like Whyte, but it's very true that the heavyweight division in this era is poor - Just to add I think we've already seen the best of Whyte.

[gregregegg]

Povetkin's legs where bad in the first fight too, bit it get's forgotten because of the knockout.

It was a sorry sight last night, uncomfortable viewing. I expected Whyte to walk through Povetkin and that's what he did.

I like Whyte, but it's very true that the heavyweight division in this era is poor - Just to add I think we've already seen the best of Whyte.

His legs were bad fight one, no doubt. but they were a lot worse this fight. his chin actualy held up ok to be fair, but his legs were struggling to make it to the ring pre fight. he honestly looked like he couldent of slowly jogged a mile if he had to... mabey i was over reading it, but he looked dreadfull walking to the ring.

[Wrists]

I agree with most on here who say the talent pool at HW isn’t great.

I think what you have are 2 guys who are far better than the rest, but you then have 4 or 5 guys below that who are decent and would provide different challenges stylistically to the big 2.

For example I think AJ smashes Wilder but Ruiz (a fully fit Ruiz) will always be an issue for him. I think Fury plays with Ruiz.

Whyte poses more problems for Fury than he does for AJ.

It’s an interesting division for me, albeit not a great one.

[Ricky]

Surprised by the negativity in here. Nobody's really gave Whyte a fair shake. He's just boxed 8 or so rounds vs Povetkin and, the ko aside, he's put a beatdown on Sasha like nobody else really has.

Whyte to me looks like a different animal to the guy that lost to AJ, he's vastly improved in many areas, especially physically. I'd take him to make easy work of AJ now, like Ruiz did after he landed 1 scuffing temple shot.

[Bleak]

He won the senior ABAS at 17! He was world class.

Absolutely spot on

Pretty sure he was 18 when he won the seniors.

He was a world class junior though and would have likely made in to the 2000 Olympics if he’d have stayed amateur.

Would have been a risk though staying amateur another 3 years given how few British guys qualified for the olympics and it’s clear he had more of a pro style.

Campbell looked he should. Like a fighter with very little experience as an amateur making a nervous pro debut. They need to keep him active and move him extremely slowly, similar to what they did with Benn. He may not even get that far but he seems a nice lad and I’m sure he’ll be in some entertaining fights.

Yeah true , I was meaning as in his pedigree was outstanding and he really was class

[maverick23]

Just seen an interview with Dillian and he said he hasn’t seen his 4 month old son once since he was born as he’s been in camp. Got to respect how seriously he takes the sport and I genuinely think he’d fight anyone and everyone.

He’s talking or fighting Trevor Bryan next in the US. To be honest, I don’t think it’s a bad move. It will be a bit of gimmie for him, would kee him busy against an opponent with a good record and a paper title. Ruiz is taken for now, Wilder is AWOL, Usyk/Joyce tied up.

[Ruthless-RKO]

CompuBox Stats

[Ruthless-RKO]

Mauricio Sulaiman’s take

"Povetkin is a real warrior, he has a very big heart," Sulaiman said to Igor Lazorin. "But I think he was not ready for a rematch with Whyte, because of medical reasons after dealing with an illness."

Should there be a third fight.

"That would be a logical decision [to have a third fight]. Two knockouts, so many knockdowns in two fights is incredible," Sulaiman said.

[maverick23]

Mauricio Sulaiman’s take

"Povetkin is a real warrior, he has a very big heart," Sulaiman said to Igor Lazorin. "But I think he was not ready for a rematch with Whyte, because of medical reasons after dealing with an illness."

Should there be a third fight.

"That would be a logical decision [to have a third fight]. Two knockouts, so many knockdowns in two fights is incredible," Sulaiman said.

Mauricio is a really tough bloke to like or respect.

If he thought that Povetkin wasn’t medically ready then he shouldn’t have allowed the fight to happen with WBC affiliation.

Now talking about a 3rd fight. FFS. Whyte dominated Povetkin badly twice whilst Povetkin landed a great punch in the first fight out of nowhere. No one wants to see a third fight and no one wants to see Povetkin fight again.

[stujones]

Mauricio Sulaiman’s take

"Povetkin is a real warrior, he has a very big heart," Sulaiman said to Igor Lazorin. "But I think he was not ready for a rematch with Whyte, because of medical reasons after dealing with an illness."

Should there be a third fight.

"That would be a logical decision [to have a third fight]. Two knockouts, so many knockdowns in two fights is incredible," Sulaiman said.

Mauricio is a really tough bloke to like or respect.

If he thought that Povetkin wasn’t medically ready then he shouldn’t have allowed the fight to happen with WBC affiliation.

Now talking about a 3rd fight. FFS. Whyte dominated Povetkin badly twice whilst Povetkin landed a great punch in the first fight out of nowhere. No one wants to see a third fight and no one wants to see Povetkin fight again.

Yes agree, might have been other forces also involved. Was Povetkin given much opportunity to have further time out and then a potential tune up? That rematch clause might have prevented Povetkin seeking alternatives.

Always always felt like Povetkin was not ready for this fight.

[maverick23]

Mauricio Sulaiman’s take

"Povetkin is a real warrior, he has a very big heart," Sulaiman said to Igor Lazorin. "But I think he was not ready for a rematch with Whyte, because of medical reasons after dealing with an illness."

Should there be a third fight.

"That would be a logical decision [to have a third fight]. Two knockouts, so many knockdowns in two fights is incredible," Sulaiman said.

Mauricio is a really tough bloke to like or respect.

If he thought that Povetkin wasn’t medically ready then he shouldn’t have allowed the fight to happen with WBC affiliation.

Now talking about a 3rd fight. FFS. Whyte dominated Povetkin badly twice whilst Povetkin landed a great punch in the first fight out of nowhere. No one wants to see a third fight and no one wants to see Povetkin fight again.

Yes agree, might have been other forces also involved. Was Povetkin given much opportunity to have further time out and then a potential tune up? That rematch clause might have prevented Povetkin seeking alternatives.

Always always felt like Povetkin was not ready for this fight.

He wouldn’t have been allowed an interim fight but having a rematch clause doesn’t mean that he has to fight. His choices would be to fight Whyte or retire.

If he’d come out and said his body wasn’t able to cope with professional boxing, Team Whyte wouldn’t have a choice.

[stujones]

True Maverick, but that is still pressure - if he would have been ready possibly in a few months time, but would have been forced to relinquish his interim title and his #1 position (and a nice pay day) or maybe not even allowed such a tune up - I remember when negotiations hit a (obviously) minor stumbling block for Andy Ruiz vs Joshua rematch - we saw that team Joshua were quite prepared to take Ruiz to court and strip him.

There is no way I think Matchroom would have waited much more and allowed the opportunity for a tune up (or see if I've still got it) type fight and that was a big pay day. The whole fight seemed to be on Whyte's terms.

Personally I think Team Pov knew and always knew he would NEVER be ready again - hence why they were talking about a maximum of 2 fights before he retired. Hardly the talk of a fighter on the cusp of a world title fight. Hardly confident of someone actually going to win it!

[MasterG]

Serious question here.

What's the difference between intim title and a Diamond title which was also on the line last night?

What is the worth of the diamond Belt in terms of belt status? Being diamond it must have a significant

[asmund]

I think Povetkin legs were jelly even before the fight, because he knew he couldnt win this one.