Alexander Povetkin is one of the most popular Russian boxers. Former WBA regular champion, former WBC interim heavyweight champion, 2004 Olympic champion retired in the summer of 2021 and had his last fight in March of the same year. Now, Povetkin visited the Russian Boxing Federation stand at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where he spoke with on current topics.
“SPARRED WITH DUBOIS. DON’T BURY IT IN THE BATTLE WITH THE ATTRACTION”
– Alexander, I’m going to start our conversation with a trivial question – how are you? What are the plans?
– It’s okay, it’s okay. Now I am involved in health, and there it will be seen. It seems to be better, everything should be fine.
Do you follow boxing?
– Slightly.
Do you remember the last fight you watched?
– I went to the World Championships in Tashkent and worried about our guys. And about professional boxing – honestly, not really.
– Okay, now some kind of stagnation and calm has formed in heavyweight. Fury cannot fight Usyk. Is this fight even necessary?
– Honestly, I do not know. But this fight will be interesting. Fury is a tough, awkward boxer, and Oleksandr Usyk very technical. It would be interesting to see their confrontation.
Have you spoken to Usyk lately?
“No, neither he nor I tried to contact us.
“He has a fight with Daniel Dubois right now.
— I know Dubois, I fought with him. A good boy.
– Here the question is rather within the framework of the attitude towards this fight. For example, the “Usyk vs Fury” sign is eye-catching, the whole world will watch it. But Usyk versus Dubois… somehow not very good.
— I would say that Dubois is a good guy.
– That is to say that there is no reason to bury the chances of Dubois?
– Certainly. There are always opportunities, especially since Dubois is a hitter.
“ALEXANDER EMELYANENKO? VERY SAD. I WANT HIM TO TAKE THE HEAD”
– Do you communicate with Alexander Emelianenko?
– Periodically. Not often, but yes, I did. If possible.
Did you see his last fight against blogger Yevgeny Ershov? How would you rate his condition?
– Pfft … I saw his duel on TV. Very sad. I wish him to get up, hold his head and that everything goes well for him.
– What do you think of the relationship between the Emelianenko brothers? Fedor and Alexander do not hide the quarrel between themselves and in the public space.
– I think all this should stay in the family. Brothers shouldn’t fight. I have such an opinion.
“USIK PROBABLY DIDN’T LEAVE A CHOICE, SOME FORCES FORCED IT…”
– Now for some time the fighter Vladimir Mineev returned from the NVO zone. What do you think of this example of his heroism, of his devotion to the country?
“I think they’re cool guys. I even have friends who gave their lives there for their country. They are very strong guys.
– And here I want to return to Usyk and his political statements. Don’t you find it superfluous for such an athlete to go into politics?
“I’ll be honest, I know him… Or rather, I knew him on the other side. Probably, he had no choice, some forces forced him. Something happened that he started talking nonsense. They started talking about me. In general, I don’t know.
– Can you say that now he is a different person for you?
– I can say that I no longer support him.
– Many athletes are involved in politics. Do you have such ambitions?
— No, I have no such ambitions. I have ambitions to take care of children so that they grow up healthy and normal people. A person should respect elders, treat people with respect, help others. This is now very lacking.
Boxing tournaments are broadcast live on the federal channel and the thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru. June 15 on and Match! Fighter” will be presented the second stage of the “Victory Cup”. The tournament will be held in St. Petersburg as part of the SPIEF Sports Games. The meetings “Tula” – “Kavkaz” and “Leningrad” – “Siberia” will be broadcast on the “Match! Fighter”, starting at 8:30 p.m. (Moscow time). The confrontation between Leningrad and Sibir will also be held on , the broadcast will begin at 10:30 p.m. (msk).
Gazprom-Media Holding is the general media partner of SPIEF-2023.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
