POVETKIN CONFIRMED
IT WAS ALWAYS POVETKIN, RATHER THAN WILDER, WHO MADE THE MOST SENSE Elliot Worsell on the next opponents for Joshua and Fury, and Matchroom’s US signings
WE knew Anthony Joshua’s next opponent would be Alexander Povetkin weeks ago. It could even be said we knew months ago, as far back as March, or February, when we first discovered the controversial Russian would be appearing on an Joshua undercard in a fight against David Price.
It was at that point we sensed Povetkin, 38, was in the running, and that if he impressed against Price in Cardiff – which, a couple of shaky moments aside, he did – there was every chance he’d be squeezed into the mix, as WBA mandatory challenger, and get the fight every heavyweight in the world wants.
Now, following confirmation on Monday, he’s got it. The date is September 22 and the venue will be Wembley Stadium.
“I can’t wait to get back in the ring,” said Joshua, 21-0 (20), the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion. “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.
“Training hasn’t stopped for me, but the next 10 weeks ahead will be intense both mentally and physically. I will push myself to breaking point to make sure I am in peak condition for another huge night for British boxing at Wembley Stadium on September 22nd.”
Even when Deontay Wilder, the dangerous WBC champion, seemed a potential next fight for Joshua, the cynical among us will have known enough to know that wasn’t really the case. It was always Povetkin, rather than Wilder, who made the most sense, at least for Matchroom, for pro fight 22.
It’s still a Wembley Stadium event, still a big earner, only far less risky. It also sorts out a pesky mandatory obligation and knocks off yet another contender. It bides time. It builds hype for a potential Wilder fight in 2019. Crucially, it allows those connected to the Joshua vs. Wilder franchise to keep making money before pressing ‘go’, closing their eyes, crossing their fingers, and hoping for the best. (After all, once it’s done, it’s done – no going back.)
And when you realise this, and accept it was this way all along, you can also appreciate the fact it’s not a bad fight and that Povetkin, 34-1 (24), is probably more dangerous than Joseph Parker, Joshua’s last opponent, as well as every other
Joshua opponent not named Wladimir Klitschko.
Joshua vs. Povetkin will also be the first Matchroom Boxing event to be shown on their American platform, DAZN, following the announcement of their deal in May.
Then, two weeks later, Matchroom host an October 6 card in Chicago, featuring new signings Jessie Vargas and Demetrius Andrade, both of whom are former world champions, as well as a fascinating IBF light-heavyweight clash between Briton Callum Johnson and the fearsome Russian champion Artur Beterbiev. Undefeated American heavyweight Jarrell Miller features in the Windy City, and Ireland’s WBA and IBF women’s lightweight champion Katie Taylor defends both belts against Cindy Serrano.
To coincide with England’s failed attempt to reach the World Cup final, last week I drafted a longlist of 66 potential opponents for Tyson Fury ahead of his August 18 fight at Windsor Park, Belfast.
Included on it were a few farfetched suggestions, the likes of Charles Martin and Bermane Stiverne, some reliable journeyman, as well as numerous obscure Europeans with unbeaten records chock-full of heavyweights with unpronounceable surnames.
One man who didn’t feature on this list, however, was Francesco Pianeta, the 33-year-old Italian plucked from the wilderness and announced as Fury’s next opponent last week.
Maybe it was an oversight on my part. Maybe my heavyweight knowledge isn’t up to scratch and I foolishly let a former world heavyweight title challenger, a man who once shared a ring with Wladimir Klitschko, slip through the net. Or maybe, just maybe, there are other reasons for his omission.
One of the reasons might be this: Pianeta has lost two of his last three fights and lost his last one, against Peter
Milas, in June. Another might be this: Pianeta was stopped – yes, stopped – by American Kevin Johnson, a former Fury victim, last year. A bad result on paper, what makes this loss all the more concerning is that Johnson, talented on his day – nay, in his day – is typically a negative heavyweight who rarely throws punches, much less knocks out opponents.
Another reason I scrapped Pianeta, 35-4-1 (21), from the list of 66 possible opponents is this: three years ago he was knocked out in a round by Ruslan Chagaev, a southpaw who, in his very next fight, was knocked out by Lucas Browne.
Bonus reason: Pianeta went 12 rounds with Ivica Bacurin, someone last seen being squashed by Joe Joyce inside 104 seconds. Moreover, this is arguably the Italian’s best win in five years.
For balance, though, what I will say is that Pianeta is a great improvement on
Sefer Seferi, the 39-year-old Albanian Fury stopped in four rounds in June, and clearly has enough experience to know his way around a ring and defend himself.
He’ll be no match for Fury, of course. That’s something we must accept going in. But with patience the name of the game, and with promoter Frank Warren being honest and open about the nature of this ‘comeback’ from the outset, the mere fact Fury is boxing again, so soon after June, and given a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, is progress in itself.
“The Seferi fight is history and Pianeta is a far better operator than him,” Warren said. “His level of opposition tells you that. Tyson had been out of boxing for a long time and Pianeta is a good opponent for what is Tyson’s second fight back after his break. Tyson had a short rest after Seferi but is back in full-time camp ready for this challenge in Belfast. He needs rounds under his belt before moving on to the next level and this fight will do that and make him work for his win.”
Getting rounds and being made to work are two very different things. Fury, 26-0 (19), got rounds, four of them, back in June against Seferi, but he certainly wasn’t made to work. Let’s hope things are different, for his sake and for ours, on August 18.
ARTHUR URRY, 1926-2018
BOXING NEWS are sorry to report the death of trainer and cutman, Athur Urry, who passed away on July 3 at the age of 92.
Urry trained Chris Finnegan during his 1968 gold medal-winning Olympic campaign, before moving into the pro game, where he coached the likes of Kid Milo and worked with Adrian Dodson. His funeral will be held at Randalls Park Crematorium in Leatherhead on Thursday July 26 at 1.15pm. At the wishes of his family, any donations should go to the British Boxing Board of Control Charitable Trust.