When Alexander Povetkin, after the fight for the title of interim World Boxing Council (WBC) champion, was asked whether the crushing blow with which he knocked out Dillian White was the best in his career, the Russian boxer evasively replied that it might be so. However, if you remember all the fights over 15 years that the Russian Knight spent in the professional ring and won, then doubts will disappear.
Even when Povetkin was younger, reacted much faster and fought less titled opponents, his knockouts were not as impressive. Usually, he won victories after a long series of blows and did not decide the outcome of a fight with just one attack. Also, he rarely managed to recoup during the battle. What the Russian showed in the meeting with White can be compared only with a few exceptional episodes of his career.
Willie Chapman, USA / December 17, 2005
Little-known, but at the same time ending in a convincing knockout, Povetkin fought against American Willie Chapman. In December 2005, the Russian boxed in Germany for the fifth time in six months, trying to attract the attention of promoters. Thanks to another early victory, he succeeded.
For five rounds, Chapman could not really hit Povetkin, and when he did strike the first blow, he immediately received a powerful response from the left. The opponent immediately fell backwards. The Ameikan managed to get to his feet, but the Russian after that with a whole series of blows forced him to press against the corner, and then the referee stopped the fight.
Richard Bango, Nigeria / March 4, 2006
Immediately after the fight with Chapman, Povetkin met with the silver medalist of the 1992 Olympics Richard Bango from Nigeria. During his professional career, he suffered only two defeats - from Nikolai Valuev and from Povetkin, when he met him in Germany in March 2006.
The fight did not last long. Already in the second round, the Russian Knight carried out a series of accurate and strong punches, from which Bango fell to the floor. The Nigerian got to his feet before the referee finished counting, but did not convince him that he was able to continue the fight. For Povetkin, this was the most important victory in professional boxing at that time.
Teke Oruh, Nigeria / October 16, 2010
A year before winning the WBA championship title, Povetkin played an ordinary duel with Nigerian Teke Oruh in Chekhov near Moscow. However, in a series of early fights of the Russian, this meeting still stands out from the others thanks to the luxurious knockout.
Russian Vityaz looked significantly stronger than his opponent throughout the entire fight, and his early end was a matter of time. It happened at the end of the fifth round. Big and clumsy Orukh received a strong counter blow, after which he literally fell flat on the floor.
When the Nigerian fell, he also hit Povetkin's shoulder, which only aggravated his condition. For Teke, who had previously suffered two defeats in a row, this was the last entry into the ring, and the Russian with an impeccable list of 20 victories came closer to the title fight with Ruslan Chagaev.
Cedric Boswell, USA / December 3, 2011
After defeating Ruslan Chagaev and winning the WBA world title, Povetkin faced his first defense. Initially, the Russian was supposed to meet with Hasim Rahman, but he refused, demanding a large fee. Then the WBA picked up 42-year-old American Cedric Boswell.
The opponent turned out to be very hardy. He continued to fight even after Povetkin once dropped him to the floor and threw him onto the ropes. But in the eighth round it was over. A whole hail of blows from the Russian led to a rare outcome for boxing - Boswell was knocked out when he was still on his feet. Taking a step forward, he hung on the Russian Knight, who immediately threw him off himself. As a result, Povetkin celebrated his 23rd career victory.
Carlos Takam, Cameroon / 24 October 2014
The fight with Carlos Takam was very important for Povetkin. At stake was not only the WBC Silver title, but the very opportunity to gain a foothold in professional boxing after being defeated by Klitschko. The career of the Cameroonian in 2014 was going uphill, and he could not be called a passing rival for the Russian Knight.
Both boxers came to the fight in Moscow in excellent physical shape. With wide strikes Takama, who was superior to his opponent by 10 kg, Povetkin could not do anything for a long time. By the fourth round, the judges gave preference to the Cameroonian. By the second third of the fight, the situation had changed, but not significantly - now the referees were inclined to draw.
Only in the ninth round Povetkin was able to turn the tide of the fight and knock Takama down, but a gong came to his aid. The judge recorded only a knockdown and ordered to continue the fight after a minute's pause. With his return to the ring, Alexander again fell on his opponent and sent him to the chin with a left hook into an undoubted knockout. Neither before nor during the battle, the Russian Vityaz was not his favorite, but still managed to end it with an early victory.
Mike Perez, Cuba / May 22, 2015
In 2015, Povetkin confidently returned to the positions lost after the fight with Vladimir Klitschko. Behind him were early victories over Manuel Charr and Carlos Takam, and ahead - the first defense of the WBC Silver title with Mike Perez, which was supposed to open the way to the championship fight with Deontay Wilder.
The fight with a Cuban in Moscow eventually became the shortest in Povetkin's career. Already in the second minute of the starting round, Perez missed the blow, after which he could barely resist on his feet. 15 seconds passed, and the Russian struck another crushing right side, which sent the challenger to the floor. The referee should have stopped the fight even then, but he gave Peres one last chance.
Then the inevitable happened - Povetkin only slightly waved his hands, Peres was on the ropes, and then there was no point in continuing the fight. The fact that in the end the Russian Vityaz won by technical knockout did not diminish the entertainment with which he took over the Cuban boxer.