Deontay Wilder vs Alexander Povetkin Preview May 21st
Unbeaten WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder of America will be defending his crown against mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin of Russia on Saturday, May 21st at the Megasport Arena in Moscow. Povetkin is a former heavyweight titleholder who’ll be trying to become a two-time champion in front of his home fans. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the U.S. on the Showtime network while fans in the UK can catch all of the action on BoxNation. Wilder’s last bout resulted in a ninth-round stoppage over Poland’s Artur Szpilka back in January while Povetkin last fought in November and stopped Poland’s Mariusz Wach in the 12th round.
Wilder vs Povetkin Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Alexander Povetkin +385
- Deontay Wilder -500
My Pick
Povetkin has won four bouts in a row by knockout and is a former WBA World Heavyweight Champion who won the title by decision against Ruslan Chagaev in 2011. Povetkin arguably constitutes Wilder’s biggest challenge up to now even though he won a unanimous decision over former WBC champ Bermaine Stiverne in January of 2015 to claim the vacant title. Before running into Stiverne, Wilder had stopped all 32 of his opponents including Malik Scott and Audley Harrison. The 30-year-old Wilder of Tuscaloosa, Alabama will climb into the ring with a perfect record of 36-0 along with 35 Kos and will be defending his title for the fourth time.
Wilder is a former Olympic bronze medalist who became the first American heavyweight in close to a decade to own a portion of the heavyweight title when he beat Haiti’s Stiverne. That victory made him the first American heavyweight since 2007 to win a world belt with Shannon Briggs being the last to do it. Wilder is basically well known for two things, which are his size and his power. He stands 6-feet-7-inches tall, has an 83-inch reach, and has stopped all but one of his opponents. The champion has 99 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2008 and his knockout percentage ratio currently stands at 97 per cent.
Just three of Wilder’s 35 Ko victims have made it past the fourth round and they were his last three opponents, Eric Molina and Johann Duhaupas and Szpilka. And let’s not forget Stiverne was his previous opponent and went the distance with him, so perhaps Wilder’s power is waning? Povetkin is now 36 years old and his record currently stands at 30-1 with 22 Kos. His lone loss came against former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko by 12-round unanimous decision in October of 2013. He turned pro in 2005 and has 189 rounds under his belt. However, he has a decided size disadvantage as he’s 6-feet-2-inches tall and has a 75-inch reach.
Povetkin’s biggest wins have been against the likes of Wach, Chagaev, Mike Perez, Carlos Takam, Manuel Charr, Hasim Rahman, Marco Huck, Nicolai Firtha, Eddie Chambers, Chris Byrd, Larry Donald and Friday Ahunanya. He has good power as his current knockout ratio is 71 percent. He needs to land something hard and heavy before Wilder does on Saturday night to gain confidence and keep the champion at bay. Wilder showed some fine boxing skills, defence, movement, and a good chin against Stiverne and he’ll need to do the same against Povetkin. The challenger’s best chance here is to try and land a big shots soon as possible and if he’s successful, just keep on throwing them.
Wilder will need to establish his jab and just wait for the opportunity to throw his power shots. If Povetkin manages to stand up to them, the champion will then have to rely on his boxing skills to rack up the points. If it turns into a bit of a chess match then Povetkin will have to use his jab to work his way on the inside of the taller champion. If he can get close to Wilder he needs to make it an ugly fight and simply hope for the best.
Prediction……
Most fans might be surprised if this fight doesn’t end in a knockout, but the chances of it going the distance are pretty good. Both Wilder and Povetkin have exceptional power, but they also have solid chins and good boxing skills. However, for Povetkin to win the title he’s going to have to let his hands go more often than he usually does. He’s the smaller man and the challenger and can’t afford to be economical with his punch output. It’s a close call with a draw not being out of the question, but Wilder’s size advantage could be the difference.
There’s a good reason the odds are so close as this is a tossup.
Play: Wilder -150 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Alexander Povetkin betting • Deontay Wilder betting