Everything these days surrounding the former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (32-1, 23 KOs) appears to be shrouded in some type of controversy, including the opening round of tonight's double intercontinental title fight with Ukraines Andriy Rudenko (31-3, 19 Ko's) at the Luzhniki Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia.. Two minutes into the opener Povetkin unleashed a volley of close range uppercuts, followed by a roughhouse right hand to the back of Rudenkos neck, as the Referee broke the pair Andriy protested the foul, in obvious pain. It took close to a 5 minute break in the round as the Ukrainians corner massaged the injury, stalling the action. When all concerned realised that a Povetkin disqualification was highly unlikely, action commenced.. Povetkin was consistently the boss in what unfolded to be a highly entertaining fight, hurting Rudenko frequently throughout.. The tough Ukrainian hung around in an attempt to spoil Povetkins work through the middle rounds and even found the occasional success with crisp counter punches.. Towards the final stretch Povetkin showed championship class, patiently picking his shots to earn an impressive unanimous decision ... 120-109, 120-108, 120-108. Povetkin' victory earned him the vacant WBA Inter-Continental and WBO International heavyweight titles.
Povetkin last boxed in December when he scored a 6th round knockout over Johann Duhaupas, a replacement for the original opponent Bermaine Stiverne who pulled out of their WBC final eliminator following Povetkins substance test failure for the stimulant Ostarine.. This was the second occasion the former WBA champion had failed a test prior to an important bout, Povetkin failed a test for Meldonium in May of 2016, weeks before his scheduled WBC title fight with Deontay Wilder in Russia..
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