JOSHUA & POVETKIN MEET IN SEPTEMBER

JOSHUA & POVETKIN MEET IN SEPTEMBER

While the news is hardly a shock but it’s been confirmed that Anthony Joshua will meet Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium on September 22nd on yet another Sky Sports Box Office offering with all his world titles on the line.

Boxing politics has stopped us seeing the fight most of us wanted, but the fight with Deontay Wilder will have to wait until April at the very earliest.

Joshua (21-0) meets his WBA mandatory Povetkin (34-1) in what still is a potentially dangerous fight for Joshua despite many saying Povetkin who will be 39 come fight night is past his best.

“I can’t wait to get back in the ring, the end of March feels a long time ago now, Povetkin is a serious challenge that I will prepare meticulously for. He has serious pedigree and only a fool would underestimate what he brings to the table”

Povetkin comes with a big dark cloud hanging over him due to his failed drug tests and a failure by the relevant boxing authorities to give him a deserved punishment.

You could argue very strongly that Povetkin shouldn’t be fighting period let alone getting a shot at the world heavyweight title, but he is and Joshua needs to get past Povetkin to keep his hopes alive of meeting Wilder and becoming the undisputed champion sometime in 2019.

But despite all the controversy surrounding Povetkin it’s still a fight with much intrigue.

Early odds put Joshua as a big favourite to beat Povetkin.

The win over David Price showed the vulnerability Povetkin has today but also the danger he still possesses in his fists. Joshua has been hurt and dropped before and despite his advancing years, Povetkin is still capable of upsetting all the plans for a fight with Wilder down the line.

The danger in the fight is obvious and I see Joshua employing the same tactics he used for the Joseph Parker fight. While Joshua carries the sort of power to finish the fight at any moment, I see him using his jab rather than his power as his primary weapon.

Povetkin is the shorter fighter and probably more important the slower fighter. Joshua will look to do what he did to Parker and it could very well be another fight that Joshua might have to go late or even have to settle for his 2nd consecutive points win.

It’s the sort of fight that Joshua will just want to get out-of-the-way before the talks and the games begin again with Wilder.