Alexander Povetkin retires from boxing at 41
Former WBA Regular and WBC Interim Heavyweight champion Alexander “Sasha” Povetkin (36-3-1, 25KOs) has announced his retirement from the sport of boxing at the age of 41. Hailing from Kursk, Russia, Povetkin would rise through the amateur ranks and win a gold medal at the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Turning pro in 2005, Povetkin would start off his career with twenty six consecutive wins. In 2007, Povetkin would stop former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd in the eleventh round. In 2011, he would defeat Ruslin Chagaev to win the WBA Regular title. His four defenses of the WBA regular title included a win over former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, whom he stopped in the second round in 2012. He would also pick up a very controversial and highly debated majority decision win over former longtime reigning cruiserweight champion Marco Huck in 2012.
In 2013, he would challenge former long reigning heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the biggest fight of his career. He would lose that fight by a unanimous decision after being dropped multiple times.
After that loss, he would go on another winning streak, winning eight consecutive bouts before another world title opportunity came knocking. Now age 38, he would take on unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua as a significant underdog. Joshua would knock out Povetkin in seven rounds.
A TREND OF FAILED PED TESTS!
As the WBC mandatory in 2016, Povetkin was set to fight then Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in Russia on May 21. However, the week of the fight he failed a drug test for meldonium. Subsequently the fight was canceled altogether. Wilder, who would go on to face Chris Arreola in a July 2016 title defense in Birmingham, Alabama, would suffer a torn pectoral muscle during the bout that required surgery. That would sideline Wilder until the beginning of 2017.
The WBC would then mandate former champion Bermane Stiverne and Povetkin to fight. The winner would go on to challenge Wilder. However, Stiverne would fail a drug test after testing positive for Methylhexanamine. To make matters worse, Povetkin would also fail another drug test for Ostarine. That would ultimately result in the fight with Stiverne being canceled after the WBC announced that it would no longer sanction the bout. That decision resulted in Stiverne’s withdrawal. Povetkin would go on to face Johann Duhaupas, who replaced Stiverne, stopping him in six rounds.
In 2017, he was fined $250,000 and indefinitely banned by the WBC for failing multiple drug tests. The ban resulted in the WBC no longer sanctioning his bouts. Although, the WBC allowed for him to reapply in 2018. He would eventually be reinstated in the WBC rankings in January 2018.
ONE LAST HURRAH!
The Russian would go on one last run at world title glory. He easily defeated Hughie Fury and drew with Michael Hunter in 2019. Following those wins, he would go on to face WBC Interim Heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte in 2020. He pulled off a major upset by stopping Whyte cold in five rounds! In what turned out to be his final fight, a rematch with Whyte, he would be stopped in four rounds.
We here at 3kingsboxing.com would like to wish Alexander Povetkin a happy retirement.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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