It’s no rush of blood for Joshua
Heavyweight champion wary of fiery rival Povetkin’s mean punch
Anthony Joshua admits he will have to subdue the power of Alexander Povetkin as the world heavyweight champion prepares for a tough test against the Russian this weekend.
Joshua, the WBA, WBO and IBF champion, faces Povetkin at Wembley on Saturday.
The 39-year-old has only been beaten once in his career, a loss to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, and boasts 24 knockouts from his 34 wins.
Assuming Joshua comes through unscathed all eyes will be on a potential bout to unify the division against WBC title holder Deontay Wilder.
But Joshua, 28, is not getting ahead of himself because he knows the threat posed by Povetkin.
“In the heavyweight division not only are they talented but one punch changes the course of the fight. We all know that story,” he said.
“He’s got that punching power, he’s got big knockouts on his record, so it’s down to me to handle business accordingly.
“He’s a threat with the left hook, but not only that, it’s how tough they are, how much do they want it? He could have the best left hook in the world but if I keep punching him and breaking him down it might stop him from doing that, so these attributes need to get shut down early.
“I’ve got to annihilate that from early on. He’s got a lot in his locker so I need to take control early.
“The last time at Wembley was against Klitschko, and I think Povetkin is the right opponent to bring that style of fight out of me.”
Meanwhile, world heavyweight champion Manuel Charr has had to call off next week’s title defence, and is set to be stripped of his WBA belt, after testing positive for steroids.
The 33-year-old, who was born in Lebanon but lives in Germany, was due to defend his title against American Fres Oquendo, 45, in Cologne on September 29, but the fight is off after Charr tested positive for two anabolic steroids.
“Under the circumstances, we will unfortunately have to cancel the world title fight,” Charr told Cologne-based newspaper Express and his management confirmed the title defence was off.
“I can only ask my fans and all the people in Cologne to believe me and to trust that everything will be cleared up.
“I’m totally shocked by the news – I have never taken anything.”
Charr is set to lose the World Boxing Association belt he won last year, but Britain’s Anthony Joshua is the WBA “Super” champion and will defend his title in London on Saturday against Povetkin.
Germany’s top selling daily Bild, Express and magazine Spiegel all report Charr tested positive for the steroids epitrenbolone and drostanolone.
“These are both anabolic steroids. That is absolute hardcore doping. In boxers, the em- phasis is on increasing muscle strength,” said doping expert Fritz Soergel.
The “B” sample will now be tested, but if they also contain the steroids then the future looks bleak for Charr.
“The fight is shelved. In my opinion, the WBA will take the belt off Manuel,” said Thomas Puetz, president of the German Professional Boxers Federation (BDB).
“Two substances were found in one of Manuel’s samples taken at a training camp on August 31, which have been on the banned list for some time.” Charr won the vacant WBA belt last November with a unanimous win against Russia’s Alexander Ustinov and claimed to be Germany’s first heavyweight champion since Max Schmeling.
It turned out to be a lie, because the Beirut-born son of a Syrian family does not own a German passport.
Charr’s failed drugs test is the latest twist in a colourful career.
In September 2015, he was left fighting for his life after being shot in the stomach following an altercation at a kebab restaurant in Essen.
He returned to the ring just seven months later, bearing the scars of the attack on his abdomen, but another setback followed earlier last year when both hips had to be replaced. —