Povetkin lobbies for Klitschko rematch

Povetkin

Alexander Povetkin wants a rematch against world heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko after his defeat to the Ukrainian on Saturday.

Russia’s Povetkin is now 26-1 after suffering his first professional defeat in Moscow to WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titlist Klitschko.

The bout was pretty one-sided with Povetkin being knocked down four times in a unanimous decision defeat, but accusations were soon made toward referee Luis Pabon, who many in the Povetkin camp felt allowed Wlad to hold excessively during the fight.

All three scorecards awarded Klitschko the win by 119-104, which would have equalled a perfect 120 plus the four knockdowns had the champion not been deducted a point for his holding.

While Povetkin representative Andrei Ryabinsky confirmed that plans to lobby for Pabon to be disciplined for his officiating performance “would look wrong now”, the defeated challenger insists he can come back with an improved threat to the dominant Klitschko.

“I’m not frightened and I’m going to set my sights on meeting him again,” Povetkin said.

“Tactically, Vladimir beat me, but I definitely never gave up mentally or physically. At that moment, he was stronger. I’ll take the correct conclusions from it, especially in terms of tactics.”