Povetkin defeats Donald!

Kirillov vs. TBA cancelled after all

By Alexey Sukachev, Alexandra Novikova and Dmitry Vasilyev at ringside, July 1, 2007

Photos by Sergey Sinyakin (PBFR)

World-class boxing hit the Russian capital for the second time in eight months with the “Boxing Show #2”, promoted by Yuri Fedorov Sports Lab in association with the Sauerland Event and the Seminole Warriors Boxing and with the help of Putinka Boxing Stars. However, the breath-taking thriller on paper turned out to be a less-than-stellar performance after a bunch of sudden failures and withdraws, though remaining the most significant boxing event in Eastern Europe this year.

KIRILLOV FIGHT IS OFF

The hugest blow to the card, held yesterday at Olympiyskiy Sports Arena, was finally completed less than an hour prior its official start, when it was announced that the scheduled IBF super flyweight bout, with Russian Dmitry Kirillov (28-3, 9 KOs) as the leading participant, was finally off. Kirillov, now rated #6 by the IBF, was first scheduled to take Mexican veteran Ricardo Vargas (39-12-3, 13 KOs) for the vacant 115 lbs. title. Both pugilists suffered setbacks in their meetings with the former IBF champion Luis Alberto Perez the last year: Kirillov by losing an extremely debatable split decision to Nicaraguan in May and Vargas by not being able to fight him for the title in November, when Perez failed to make the weight limit properly. Kirillov – Vargas collision was first rumored to take place in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, this March with the help of Russian promoter German Titov. But that call was the false one. A month ago the bout was finally set to take place as the co-headliner of the “Boxing Show #2” in Moscow.

The bad-luck chain wasn’t, however, finished, not even close to. This Monday Vargas had sent a letter to the IBF headquarters with the medical expertise attached. Two days after it was officially announced by matchmaker Stepan Lendiel and the Warriors Boxing executive director Leon Margules that the fight was no go due to the hand injury, suffered by Vargas. The search for the possible substitutions started immediately. The first to be noted as the possible replacement was Russian Andrey Kostin (18-7, 6 KOs). The next day another candidate appeared in face of Kirillov, as the IBF #15 Mbwana Matumla (17-3, 10 KOs) agreed with the terms of deal to fight for the title. Few hours passed and he renounced the previous decision, preferring not to risk his IBO belt during the possible unification.

It was when a pair of Titov-promoted fighters Marat Mazimbaev (19-4-1, 13 KOs) from Kazakhstan and WBO #5 Uzbek Kakhramon Arzykulov (13-2-1, 8 KOs) came from nowhere to be discussed as the future opponents for distressful Kirillov. Both were slated to appear at Saturday weigh-in and both failed to do that, possibly as the result of unsuccessful negotiations between the respective camps. The situation became even more complicated when Kyrgyz Timur Shailezov (9-1, no KOs), who started his pro career less than a year before, suddenly arrived in Moscow to try his skills against Kirillov. Finally, he was also left outside alone due to undisclosed circumstances, giving the red light to any possible fight, even the non-title affair, and leaving Russian contender without any match for now more than 14 months.

POVETKIN SHUTS OUT DONALD

The co-main event of the show remained at its place and gave Russian fans, which mostly filled the auditorium, bright emotions to recall in future and a number of new themes to discuss after. Alexander Povetkin made them positive with his dominant performance against Larry Donald in the most significant fight of his yet short career.

Povetkin started the fight in mediocre pace and so did Donald. Both fighters were cautious not to be taken out early in the fight with some flash shots. Russian was an aggressor, cutting the angles, but wasn’t that successful in beating his American foe. An even round for the beginners. In the second one Alexander increased the production, starting to throw various combinations to the head and body. Donald, however, was able to reply with single but oft jabs to the head and then suddenly exploded with the right, stopping his opponent’s aggression.

Povetkin decided to finish it in the next round by continuously stalking Donald and rocking him considerably on several occasions. Alexander did pretty well on inside and finally got Donald trapped at the ropes but American veteran somehow survived the storm. In the fourth Larry was still inactive and was hit numerously with the lightning-fast combos for Povetkin. He had to find the safety in clinches to end the round vertically.

Donald woke up suddenly in the fifth adding some power shots to his jabs and retreating. Povetkin faded visibly in the next round, giving some space for American to do his job more accurately. The second even round during the fight.

The seventh round saw the two-way action continuing. Alexander was successful with his hooks, while Larry made his marks with the right crosses. The slight advantage went to Povetkin thanks to his activities at the end of the round. In the eighth both fighters seemed to be visibly tired but it was Donald, who was tired more. The fight soon became one-sided again with Povetkin finding extra resources in the store.

Donald was rocked several times during the ninth. In the tenth and final round both fighters went for the kill but it was obvious that Donald had nothing left. He was able to save his body and head in clinches but nothing more to that.

All three local judges were unanimous in their verdicts: 100-90 for Povetkin, who is now 13-0, 11 KOs, and made a gigantic leap towards the higher rankings. Donald, on the other hand, suffered his second consecutive loss in two years, though still possessing a more-than-average record of 42-5-3, 24 KOs. Fightnews saw this bout 100-91 for the ‘Russian Vityaz’.

Alexander’s appearance was sounded by the world-known ring announcer Michael Buffer who was specifically signed to greet Povetkin. The referee was Russian Alexander Kalinkin.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

In the walk-out bout of the show former WBO heavyweight champion Henry Akinwande (now 50-3-1, 30 KOs) of Nigeria outpointed Ukrainian late-sub Andriy Oleynik (12-8, 10 KOs) over ten disappointing rounds. The should-be thrilling fight on paper turned out to be an ugly clowning affair thanks to Oleynik who did less in the ring than outside it during the fight. Akinwande dropped his younger foe in the second round but was unable to finish him instantly. The Nigerian veteran was originally slated to face Oleg Platov in a rematch of their IBF intercontinental fight.

Ukrainian Vitaly Tsypko (19-2, 10 KOs), who is rated #10 by the WBA, stopped his unheralded compatriot Maxim Goloviznin (13-1, 6 KOs) in the very first round of their clash. The fight ended suddenly after the bell on advice of Goloviznin's corner. The reason for an early stoppage in favor of Tsypko remained unclear as there were no signs of damage, received by Goloviznin during an uneventful first round.

New Russian star in the making Vladimir Povetkin (1-0), the younger brother of 2004 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, looked sensational against Egyptian amateur champion Jose El Howly, who was making his pro debut. Povetkin dropped his opponent total four times (twice in the first and twice in the next round) on his way to the fascinating second-round TKO. He looked way stronger than in his first pro bout.

Hot Polish prospect Lukasz Janik (4-0, 3 KOs) impressed the crowd in his fifth round TKO over rugged Uzbek journeyman Makhmud Atadzanov (4-6, 3 KOs). Janik fought the bout with the hunger in his fists throwing wild punches in fast combos and scoring much to the head with both hands. Atadzanov did little to stop his foe, while preferring to hold and grab rather than to answer with the shots. Though the Uzbek fighter had never been down, the referee stopped the fight correctly in the fifth round after another continuous unanswered barrage of punches by Janik.

German cousin of the IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham Karo Murat (10-0, 6 KOs) struggled a bit with the overmatched Russian journeyman Sergey Botnikov (1-6-1, 1 KO) but finally stopped him in round four. Murat dropped his foe with the wicked left hook to the liver in the mid of the fourth round and then finished him with the fierce combo at 2:50.In the opening bout of the evening Russian Dzhimi Kapanov (1-0, 1 KO) scored an unspectacular UD 4 over compatriot Alexander Romashko (1-1).

POST-FIGHT COMMENTS

Alexander Povetkin: “It was a tough fight against a very experienced opponent but I am pleased with my performance. I don´t know how long it will take me to get a title fight but I am definitely ready”. And more: “We, Russians, love tough challenges. As harder they are, as stronger we are. I had the resources to fight twelve rounds if needed. I want to thank Larry for this hard test. It’ll be very useful for me and definitely I need more of that in the coming months. The crowd did the job brilliantly. I was really rocked with their continuous support during the fight”.

Larry Donald: “My props to Alex. He was great. I love Russia, Russian people and everything here. I fought a good fight but Povetkin definitely was a little bit stronger. I don’t want to take anything from him but I did take the fight on a short notice and that resulted in me being not in the tip-top shape”.

Dmitry Kirillov: “There’s nothing in the world to describe my disappointment. I was ready to fight anybody, anyway, any number of rounds. If it had been a non-title fight then it would have been ok. That doesn’t matter. I just wanted to fight. I don’t want to say anything bad about the promoters, managers or organizers but I’m hugely stunned”.

Vladimir Hrunov on the future plans: “We shall take a long-long rest and we are going to celebrate this victory. It’s worth celebrating! Sasha will be back into the squared ring in October. We hope to get him a title shot pretty soon”. He continued, “I want to thank Mr. Sauerland, his son Kalle and their promotional company for their help and support”.

Wilfried Sauerland: “I want to thank Mr. Valery Belov (Povetkin’s coach) especially. He did a fine job by giving the correct advices to Alex. His impact can’t be diminished”. “Larry says he wasn’t ready because he hadn’t been in the official fight for years. That’s not the all truth. Mr. Donald has sparred a lot with Klitschko brothers and lots of other fighters in Germany the last year. If it’s the ring rust then I don’t know what the pro boxing is. I want to warn Russians that they must be getting ready for such continuous excuses from American fighters now on. It’s their usual tactics”. (Having heart this, Carl King escaped the presser with Donald, claiming “B—ls—t!”).

IBF supervisor Benedetto Montella, “I want to apologize for scratching the title fight. The organizers had done as much as they could to save it but, unfortunately, all their efforts became useless now. It’s a pitiful situation but nobody, except for Mazimbaev, were able to weigh-in in time”. “Mr. Kirillov, a clear victim of circumstances, will surely be granted an IBF title fight in 90 days against Ricardo Vargas. If not Vargas, Kirillov will fight the highest-ranked available contender for the belt”.

MISCELLANEOUS

The show was visited by a number of VIP guests. Leon Margules, Wilfried and Kalle Sauerland, ring legend Kostya Tszyu, former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev and a huge number of others were in attendance.