Povetkin remains Joshua’s mandatory
Alexander Povetkin viciously knocked out David Price with a left hook on Saturday during the undercard of the heavyweight unification clash between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker.
Price appeared for just a split second on the verge of a fairy-tale result when he got off the canvas and then came close to finishing Povetkin in the third. But, the Russian native halted any dreams Price may have had with a vicious right hand to left hook combination in the fifth.
Price did land the first notable blow of the night when a right hand from Povetkin missed, Price countered with a one of his own. Price’s confidence seemed to grow when Povetkin landed two sharp shots in the second round without much effect.
Round three was almost edge of your seat action, then silence filled the arena when Price went down from a left hook. It quickly became ear-deafening loud after Price rose to his feet to earn his own knock-down when Povetkin was ploughed into the ropes. But, there was too little time for the Liverpool native to take advantage of the situation.
In the fifth round Povetkin landed a right hand that literally stiffened Price’s legs. The Russian followed that up with a vicious left hook to close the show as Price was clearly not beating the count this time.
Price, who came into this fight with the hopes of scoring a career rejuvenating upset, was simply outclassed by Povetkin.
With the win Povetkin cements his status as Joshua’s WBA mandatory. He improves to 34-1 with 24KO’s, while Price falls to 22-5 with all five of his losses coming by way of knockout. It’s not clear what is next for Povetkin although Dillian Whyte did say afterwards that he wouldn’t mind challenging him.
By: Chris Henderson
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