Unbeaten WBA Heavyweight Champion Alexander Povetkin (23-0, 16KOs) of Russia will be putting his title on the line against Marco Huck (34-1, 25KOs) of Germany in Stuttgart, Germany on Feb. 25. Huck is the WBO cruiserweight champion of the world and will be fighting up at the heavyweight division in hopes of another title to his collection.
The 27-year-old Huck is known as a pretty rough fighter who isn’t adverse to a few dirty tactics when needed. However, they might not work against the 32-year-old Povetkin since he’s a naturally bigger man even though they’re both 6-foot-2. While Povetkin’s probably the least-known heavyweight champion to come along in decades, he’s unbeaten and has a pretty decent knockout record. He’s not a bad boxer either, but he’s a slow starter whom often throws just enough punches to win.
Huck’s also got some decent power and he’d be well advised to force Povetkin into fighting all three minutes of every round. Povetkin has often been accused of waiting for Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko to retire instead of fighting them, claiming in the past that he wasn’t ready. However, that’s not a valid reason now after 23 pro fights and at 32 years of age.
Povetkin usually weighs in at about 225 lbs. for his fights, so he’s not going to have a huge physical edge, but it’s still an advantage nonetheless. He’s going to have a disadvantage though since his trainer Teddy Atlas hasn’t been able to prepare him for this fight due to his commentary work commitments with ESPN.
Atlas said he was supposed to train Povetkin in Russia during the offseason of the Friday Night Fights television show he works on and the boxer was supposed to head to America to train once the show started its new season. He added that he was disappointed that Povetkin didn’t live up to his part of the deal.
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Povetkin could certainly use Atlas since he often seems to be unmotivated in the ring even though he owns solid wins over Americans Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd. He better be motivated for this fight though since a loss to a smaller cruiserweight would prove to be embarrassing for the heavyweight champ. If Povetkin wins it’s possible that he may try to line up a fight with one of the Klitschkos since they’re both a few years older now.
Huck’s most impressive wins have come against Hugo Hernan Garay, Brian Minto, Matt Godfrey, and Dennis Lebedev. He won his title in 2009 with a unanimous decision over Victor Ramirez and has defended it eight times. His only loss came back in 2007 when he was stopped in Germany in the 12th and final round by IBF Cruiserweight Champion Steve Cunningham of America.
Prediction
Huck doesn’t need to gain a lot of weight to be competitive in this fight. What he does need to do is put the pressure on the champion as soon as the bell rings and never take his foot off the gas. Povetkin isn’t used to throwing a lot of punches and this is the way to beat him. If Huck comes in with the proper game plan he should be able to take the belt from the Russian champ.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.com has the current odds of a Povetkin win at -350 and a Huck upset at +290. The odds of the fight going under 9.5 rounds are +185 and are at -225 for going over 9.5 rounds. Visit 5Dimes.com now to place a bet. Remember to use 5Dimes marketing code AF0002879 if you are opening a new account to get the best bonus available at 5Dimes.com.
Alexander Povetkin betting • Marco Huck betting • WBA Heavyweight Championship betting