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Alexander Povetkin at an interview in 2015. Photo by Przemek Garczarczyk.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Alexander Povetkin

Alexander Povetkin is a former Russian professional boxer. He was born on 2nd September 1979 in Kursk, Russia. After competing in amateur boxing, he began his professional career in 2005.

He clinched the WBA Regular Heavyweight champion title in 2011 after defeating former Ukrainian boxer, Ruslan Chagaev. He held on to the title until 2013 when he lost to the then Super Champion, Wladimir Klitschko.

 He contended for the Unified Heavyweight Championship twice in his career. Povetkin is a one-time winner of the WBC Knock Out of the Year (2020).

He has attained a record 36 wins out of 40 professional career fights. He retired in 2021, after a successful and thrilling boxing career. Here are the top 10 interesting facts about Alexander Povetkin.

1. Alexander Povetkin’s career began as an amateur kickboxer

K1 style kickboxing. Photo by Bovvladua.

Kickboxing is a form of boxing that involves kicking and punching. Amateur boxing is usually done at the collegiate level and in associations such as Pan American and Commonwealth Games. Unlike professional boxing, amateur boxing bouts are rather short.

 Professional Boxing is sanctioned by the four major boxing bodies. These are the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

Povetkin had a successful kickboxing career, winning world competitions. His first major tournament was the 2000 Russian Championships. He was 21 years old. He won the World Junior Championship in 1997 and the European Professional Kickboxing title in 2000.

2. He won 4 gold medals in the Super-Heavyweight division

The division is equivalent to the heavyweight in professional boxing, in which fighters weighing over 200 pounds compete.

As an amateur boxer, Povetkin won gold in the super heavyweight division at the 2002 and 2004 European Championships, 2003 World Championships, and 2004 Summer Olympics.

3. Povetkin started professional boxing in 2005

His early professional career  gained considerable notice when he defeated the American boxing veteran, Larry Donald in 2007.

It was Povetkin’s 13^th professional fight. It was held in Moscow. He gathered momentum in the subsequent fights, showing great potential for a heavyweight contender.

4. He won the WBA Regular heavyweight title in 2011

Ruslan Chagaev in the ring with Nikolai Valuev. Alexander Povetkin defeated Ruslan in 2011 to win WBA Regular Heavyweight title. Photo by illtronic.

Wladimir Klitschko had been named Super Champion by the WBA after claiming David Haye’s WBA title and unifying it with his WBO and IBF titles.

This effectively rendered the WBA Regular Heavyweight title vacant. A match was drawn between Povetkin and Ukrainian boxer Ruslan Chagaev to contend for the vacant title.

The fight was expected to be a rather close one, considering Ruslan’s long experience in the ring and Povetkin’s youth and superb athletic ability.

The Ring, an American Boxing magazine, had ranked Ruslan 4^th and Povetkin 3^rd in the list of heavyweight contenders.

The bout took 12 full rounds. Povetkin won by a unanimous decision, having landed more shots in all the rounds and more power punches in all rounds except the first two.

He became WBA Regular heavyweight champion, a title he held until 2013 upon defeat by Wladimir.

5. Povetkin was a contender for the Unified Heavyweight Champion title in 2013

Wladimir Klitschko, former Ukrainian boxer. He was a two time world heavyweight champion. Povetkin contended for his titles in 2013. Photo by A. Savin.

A unified champion is a boxer holding at least two world championship titles of the 4 major sanctioning bodies; WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. Unified Champion, Wladimir Klitschko had been ordered by WBA to fight Povetkin in defense of his title.

The fight would be a rather anticipated one, with Wladimir being a third consecutive undefeated opponent. Povetkin was also one to watch out for, having shown prowess and great ambition in the ring.

In a rather intense struggle, Wladimir won 119- 104. He landed 139 out of 147 punches while Povetkin landed 59 out of 283.

The fight became the most popular sporting event on Russian television in 2013. It was also the most-watched program in Moscow.

6. He failed a doping test in 2016

On May 14, Povetkin tested positive for the banned drug, meldonium. This was 7 days before his planned fight against World Champion Deontay Wilder.

The World Boxing Council had to announce the postponement of the match in light of the situation.

Povetkin’s promoter claimed he had stopped taking the drug only shortly before its ban and that only small traces had been found in his blood sample. However, these claims were ruled untrue.

7. Povetkin was indefinitely banned by the WBC in 2017

He was fined 250, 000 USD for failing drug tests. On 3^rd March, WBC suspended him indefinitely. WBC would no longer sanction his fights.

However, he would be allowed to apply for inclusion in the rankings in 2018. Luckily for him, the indefinite ban was lifted in December 2017.

8. He challenged Anthony Joshua for the Unified Champion title in 2018

Two- time former unified world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua. He defended his unified champion title against Povetkin in 2018. Photo by Bill.

The fight would be his second challenge for the title, his first being Wladimir Klitschko in 2013.  Povetkin would be contending for the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles against Joshua.

Anthony Joshua had defeated unified champion Wladimir in 2017 in what was named Fight of the Year by The Ring.

A record of 80,000 fans turned up at Wembley Stadium for the fight on 16 July 2018. Anthony Joshua won by a technical knockout in the 7^th round, maintaining the titles.

9. Alexander Povetkin won the WBA KO of the Year in 2020

This was after a fight defending his WBC Interim heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte. The match, which took place on August 22^nd, went for 5 rounds.

Dillian was a worthy contender, relatively controlling the first 4 rounds. However, in the fifth round, Povetkin swiftly landed an uppercut, leaving Dillian on the floor.

Povetkin won by a technical knockout. He won the WBC KO of the Year. He was also named Premier Boxing Champions Knockout of the Year (2020).

10. He retired for health reasons in 2021

Povetkin lost his WBC Interim Heavyweight title to Dillian Whyte in a rematch in March 2021. He lost by a technical knockout in the fourth round.

His promoter, Andrey Ryabinsky, commented that he would persuade him to end his career, quoting health concerns for the boxer.

On 13th June 2021, Povetkin announced his retirement at 41. He cited injuries that needed treatment.