Wladimir Klitschko had one of the greatest heavyweight careers of all time, including a win over a Russian favorite in his home country.
Wladimir Klitschko was inching closer to the end of his career when, in 2013, he faced Francesco Pianeta.
The Ukrainian hadn’t lost since his upset to Corrie Sanders ten years earlier, and beat Pianeta with ease.
Now eyeing the next challenge, Klitschko made a world title defense against a fearsome 26-0 Russian powerhouse.
Wladimir Klitschko almost ruined Putin’s birthday with a win over Alexander Povetkin
Klitschko, who KO’d Deontay Wilder in sparring, faced 26-0 Alexander Povetkin, who had beaten names like Marco Huck, Ruslan Chagaev, Chris Byrd, and Hasim Rahman.
The fight took place in Povetkin’s homeland of Russia, and it was reported by Sport.pl that Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, had vied for the fight to be rescheduled to take place on his birthday two days later.
It’s a good thing it wasn’t, though, as Klitschko dismantled the Russian fan-favorite, dropping him once in round two and three times in round seven.
Klitschko, who was almost beaten by DaVarryl Williamson, won every single round, plus the knockdowns.
Alexander Povetkin caused a dramatic upset in the UK seven years after the Klitschko loss
Years after his maiden loss to Klitschko, Povetkin travelled to Essex, England to face Dillian Whyte in Eddie Hearn‘s back garden.
He wasn’t successful, being dropped twice in the fourth round. Despite being behind on the cards and having been dropped, Povetkin unleashed an almighty uppercut in the fifth round that flattened Whyte, closing the show.
Whyte, who will face Moses Itauma next, did ultimately get his own KO revenge less than a year later.