Alexander Povetkin vs Mike Perez Preview May 22nd
The WBC Silver Heavyweight Championship will be on the line this Friday, May 22 when Alexander Povetkin of Russia takes on Mike Perez of Cuba. Povetkin is listed as the current titleholder, but with the ridiculous amount of titles floating around out there it’s quite hard to keep track of them all. What we do know is this will be a 12-round bout from Moscow, which will be shown in the U.S. via WatchESPN on the internet and then televised later on by ESPN2 on a tape delay. Fans in the UK will be able to catch it all live on TV on BoxNation.
The 35-year-old Povetkin has just one defeat on his record and that came back in 2013 when he was beaten by heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko via a unanimous decision. Since then he’s beaten the likes of Manuel Charr and Carlos Takam by stoppages and is apparently the WBC’s top-ranked heavyweight. Povetkin enters the contest with an overall record of 28-1 with 20 Kos to his name. The 29-year-old Perez is a southpaw who will climb through the ropes with a mark of 21-1-1 along with 13 Kos. His lone defeat came against American Bryant Jennings by a close split decision back in July of 2014.
According to reports, the winner of this bout will be given a shot at WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder of America, who owns a scary record of 33-0 with 32 Kos. Wilder took the title from Bermane Stiverne of Haiti by a decision in January. Perez bounced back from his loss to Jennings by stopping Darnell Wilson in the second round in February. Perez sometimes gives fans the impression that he isn’t in the greatest of condition when he fights as his body fat percentage is usually higher than the average boxer. This could explain why he faded down the stretch in his loss to Jennings. He’s now hired Robert Garcia as his trainer, so he may be better prepared from now on.
Although Povetkin’s 35 years old he doesn’t really have a lot of pro experience under his belt with just 29 fights up to now. However, he had a fine amateur career and has taken on some upper echelon foes in the likes of Klitschko, Hasim Rahman, Marco Huck, Ruslan Chagaev, Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd. Povetkin isn’t a big heavyweight by any stretch of the imagination as he stands 6-foot-2 and has a 75-inch reach. He turned pro in 2005 and has fought 176 rounds up to now. He has decent power with a 69 per cent knockout ratio. Perez is even smaller at 6-foot-1 and his reach is unlisted. He turned pro in 2008 and has fought a total of 102 rounds with a knockout ratio of 56.5 per cent.
Perez will be facing a solid heavyweight in Povetkin who hasn’t been slowed down by age as of yet. He’ll need a solid game plan to deal with the Russian’s power and skills if he’s going to be successful. Perez isn’t particularly hard to hit so he’s going to need to be better defensively in this fight. He has a great chin, but it’s generally better not to test it if you don’t have to.
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Prediction
Povetkin’s stopped five of his last seven opponents due to his aggressive power-punching style. He doesn’t have the greatest mobility in the ring as he’s basically flat footed and willing to end things early. He needs to be careful of Perez’s boxing skills and counterpunching ability. Perez also has good power in his fists and won’t hesitate to let his hands go when he sees the chance. He’s on the road in this fight so winning a decision could be difficult. This has the potential to be one of Povetkin’s toughest tests, but it’s one he should pass, likely by a decision with the possibility of a late stoppage.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights. The odds of a Povetkin victory are listed at -550 while a Perez win is listed at +425. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done.
Alexander Povetkin betting • Mike Perez betting