Alexander Povetkin has Retired

[Ruthless-RKO]

All the best.

Nothing more he could offer.

[bigjack]

Very good fighter,definitely was not right in the Whyte rematch so good decision.

[dookus]

Right decision. Gave absolutely everything to the sport, wicked puncher, masterful skill set, and unlucky not to have had more opportunities. The Whyte KO is a great late career result.

[Boxerbeetle]

Definitely should have retired after the Covid hospitalisation, but can’t blame him for taking one final payday.

[THEBUTCH]

Sacha had wonderful career, amateur & pro, Olympic gold and WBA world champion.

It wouldn't feel right not to mention the PED fails, which was a real shame.

Povetkin was a very good boxer with a hard dig and and abundance of guts

[margaret thatcher]

he's defo a poster boi for why peds should be allowed, he was a super entertaining beast for a while there, a machine on those bad bois. a case like his makes it clear that we aren't seeing the highest level of pro boxing until these guys are all on the juice

[Ruthless-RKO]

Alexander Povetkin, 41, Retires; Former HW Champ Also Captured Olympics Gold

Alexander Povetkin has decided to call it a career.

The 41-year-old former heavyweight champion and 2004 Olympics gold medal winner announced his retirement during a news conference in St. Petersburg, Russia on Sunday.

"The years take their toll," said Povetkin. "I have all kinds of injuries that still need to be treated. The time has come for me to end my career."

Povetkin, once a successful amateur kickboxer, had been a professional boxer since 2005 and amassed a record of 36 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw during a 40-fight run that featured him fighting some of the top names in the division.

The 6-foot-2 fighter Russian pulverized plenty of durable opponents, but suffered blemishes against Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, Anthony Joshua in 2018 and Dillian Whyte earlier this year.

Povetkin captured the only world title of his career in 2011, a vacant WBA crown against Ruslan Chagaev.

Povetkin defended the title four times against the likes of Cedric Boswell, Marco Huck, Hasim Rahman and Andrzej Wawrzyk before losing the belt in a landslide decision to Klitschko in 2013 after he was dropped four times.

Povetkin's past was also mired in controversy when he twice tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in an eight-month span in 2016. At the time, he was the WBC mandatory challenger for then-champion Deontay Wilder. The development caused a cancellation for their fight and a $250,000 fine for Povetkin.

After the Klitschko loss, Povetkin reeled off eight-consecutive wins against the likes of Carlos Takam, Mahmoud Charr and Mariusz Wach and landed an opportunity to fight Joshua, but he suffered a seventh-round TKO in the fight.

After decisioning Hughie Fury and having to settle for a split draw with Michael Hunter in 2019, Povetkin’s final two fights against Dillian Whyte were arguably the most memorable of his 16-year career.

In their 2020 meeting, Povetkin was knocked down twice in the fourth round but bounced back up and scored a comeback, knockout-of-the-year contender in the fifth when he landed a vicious uppercut and finished Whyte.

The thrilling fight warranted a rematch in March, but Whyte proved he was too powerful for his rival, dropping and stopping Povetkin in the fourth.

The bout proved to be Povetkin’s final one as a pugilist.

[jameswilson]

Good decision.

He was someone the top guys did not want to get in with unless forced.

[DrDuke]

Povetkin is a one of my favorite fighters ever. I have been following his career since the Olympics. Those were overall my first years of being a boxing fan.

He was popular here in Russia since the Olympics obviously, so it was easy to follow his career. I watched almost every fight of his early track on local cable TV, then his fights gradually moved to the big Russian TV channels.

So, for me his career was highly memorable. Some really good and bad memories about it, which means all of them were thrilling.

I can remember been super excited about him crushing journeymen early on. I can remember a frustration about his career in late 2000s and early 2010s, when he began to be tracked too safe. I can remember the super frustration with the Klitschko bout. I can remember a new belief in Povetkin after he teamed up with Kirpa. I remember being pissed off with the Wilder affair, I was confident about Povetkin KOing Wilder the f*ck out. I was excited with the last part of his career. He only should have retired without the Whyte rematch, after getting corona.

His resume is damn good, he had a number of great fights, win or lose. Huck, Chagaev, Takam, Price, Joshua, Whyte and many more. There's some stuff to be remembered.

It's only a bit disappointing, that he didn't became a champion in the era, when John Ruiz, Valuev, Charles Martin and Joe Parker could have such privilege. On the other hand, belts are so disvalued today.

So, good times in retirement to Sasha!

[dookus]

Povetkin is a one of my favorite fighters ever. I have been following his career since the Olympics. Those were overall my first years of being a boxing fan.

He was popular here in Russia since the Olympics obviously, so it was easy to follow his career. I watched almost every fight of his early track on local cable TV, then his fights gradually moved to the big Russian TV channels.

So, for me his career was highly memorable. Some really good and bad memories about it, which means all of them were thrilling.

I can remember been super excited about him crushing journeymen early on. I can remember a frustration about his career in late 2000s and early 2010s, when he began to be tracked too safe. I can remember the super frustration with the Klitschko bout. I can remember a new belief in Povetkin after he teamed up with Kirpa. I remember being pissed off with the Wilder affair, I was confident about Povetkin KOing Wilder the f*ck out. I was excited with the last part of his career. He only should have retired without the Whyte rematch, after getting corona.

His resume is damn good, he had a number of great fights, win or lose. Huck, Chagaev, Takam, Price, Joshua, Whyte and many more. There's some stuff to be remembered.

It's only a bit disappointing, that he didn't became a champion in the era, when John Ruiz, Valuev, Charles Martin and Joe Parker could have such privilege. On the other hand, belts are so disvalued today.

So, good times in retirement to Sasha!

A nice tribute, and I agree, just a few years earlier or later his title record would have been quite different.

One thing I forgot to say: a proper gentleman of the sport, something we don't see enough of.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Povetkin is a one of my favorite fighters ever. I have been following his career since the Olympics. Those were overall my first years of being a boxing fan.

He was popular here in Russia since the Olympics obviously, so it was easy to follow his career. I watched almost every fight of his early track on local cable TV, then his fights gradually moved to the big Russian TV channels.

So, for me his career was highly memorable. Some really good and bad memories about it, which means all of them were thrilling.

I can remember been super excited about him crushing journeymen early on. I can remember a frustration about his career in late 2000s and early 2010s, when he began to be tracked too safe. I can remember the super frustration with the Klitschko bout. I can remember a new belief in Povetkin after he teamed up with Kirpa. I remember being pissed off with the Wilder affair, I was confident about Povetkin KOing Wilder the f*ck out. I was excited with the last part of his career. He only should have retired without the Whyte rematch, after getting corona.

His resume is damn good, he had a number of great fights, win or lose. Huck, Chagaev, Takam, Price, Joshua, Whyte and many more. There's some stuff to be remembered.

It's only a bit disappointing, that he didn't became a champion in the era, when John Ruiz, Valuev, Charles Martin and Joe Parker could have such privilege. On the other hand, belts are so disvalued today.

So, good times in retirement to Sasha!

A nice tribute, and I agree, just a few years earlier or later his title record would have been quite different.

One thing I forgot to say: a proper gentleman of the sport, something we don't see enough of.

Him and Lebedev. Warriors in the ring and gents outside.

[Verdi]

Possibly the best HW boxer never to win a proper world title.

[Black Sam Bellamy]

The legacy is two failed drugs tests. Or is it three ?

[margaret thatcher]

ya he runs with the ped bois doesnt he, fury , ortiz, whyte, miller all in the crew aren't they

[stujones]

Shame the Wilder fight never happened - that could have potentially been his best win.

I would have liked to have seen him fight more of the "elite" (but non Klitschko) heavyweights of his time in his prime - Haye, Pulev, Chagaev, Ruiz and the like. I really think he was the best "non Klitschko" heavyweight for a while - but never really cemented it when he had the WBA title.

He should have rematched Huck also - that was a great and razor tight fight and often forgotten about.

Great longevity though - he seemingly been in the top 5 for ever!

[Ruthless-RKO]