Alexander Vladimirovich Povetkin (p. Champion of the 28 Olympic Games-2004 in the weight category over 91 kg. Champion of Russia in the category up to 91 kg (2000) and over 91 kg (2001, 2002). World champion (2003). Two-time European champion (2002, 2004) Honored Master of Sports of Russia.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Alexander Povetkin, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Alexander Povetkin.
Biography of Povetkin
Alexander Povetkin was born on September 2, 1979 in Kursk. He grew up and was brought up in the family of boxing coach Vladimir Ivanovich.
Childhood and youth
Before taking up boxing, Alexander, together with his brother Vladimir, was fond of karate, wushu and hand-to-hand fighting.
When Povetkin was 13 years old, he watched the famous film "Rocky", which made a great impression on him. As a result, the teenager decided to associate his life exclusively with boxing.
Alexander began training at the local sports complex "Spartak". At that time in his biography, his own father was his mentor.
The young man made noticeable successes, owning a good blow and technique. At the age of 16, he took 1st place in the youth championship of Russia, and after 2 years, he became the winner among juniors.
After that, Alexander Povetkin participated in the European Junior Boxing Championship, where he was defeated. For this reason, the guy wanted to take up kickboxing.
In the kickboxing ring, the athlete took part in 4 championships and won gold medals in all of them.
After graduating from school, Povetkin became a student at the school, where he studied to be a locksmith driver. An interesting fact is that at that moment in his biography, he paid for all trips to the competition on his own - using a scholarship.
After receiving his diploma, Alexander continued to practice boxing. As a result, he ended up in the Russian national team, thanks to which he began to receive a state scholarship.
Povetkin earned his first serious money at the age of 19, when he became the champion of a boxing tournament held in Krasnoyarsk. For the victory, he received $ 4500 and a gold bar.
However, this was only the beginning of Alexander's sports career.
Boxing
In 2000, Povetkin took 1st place in the Russian boxing championship, and the next year he won the Goodwill Games.
In 2003, the guy becomes the world champion, and a year later he also wins the European Championship. In 2004, he won gold at the Olympic Games in Greece.
Over the years spent in amateur boxing, Povetkin had 133 fights, having only 7 defeats to his credit. It was at that moment in his biographies that they began to call him "Russian Knight".
In 2005, Alexander Povetkin moved to professional boxing. His first rival was the German Muhammad Ali Durmaz.
Povetkin managed to knock out Durmaz in the second round. After that, he won confident victories over Cerron Fox, John Castle, Stephen Tessier, Friday Ahunanya, Richard Bango Levin Castillo and Ed Mahone.
In 2007, Russian Knight met with two-time ex-world champion Chris Byrd. As a consequence, he was only able to defeat Byrd in round 11 with a series of precise and powerful punches.
Then Povetkin won a tough victory over American Eddie Chambers, which allowed him to compete for the IBF world champion title. At that time, the owner of this belt was Vladimir Klitschko.
For various reasons, Povetkin's fight with Klitschko was repeatedly postponed, in connection with which the Russian boxer had to meet with other rivals.
During this period of his biography, Alexander won victories over Jason Estrada, Leon Nolan, Javier Mora, Teke Orukha and Nikolai Firta.
In the last fight, Povetkin injured a tendon on his arm, which is why he did not enter the ring for several months.
In 2011, a match for the regular champion title was organized between Alexander Povetkin and Ruslan Chagaev. Both athletes showed good boxing, but at the end of the fight, the victory went to "Russian Knight" by unanimous decision of the judges.
After that, Povetkin was stronger than Cedric Boswell, Marco Hook and Hasim Rahman.
In 2013, the long-awaited battle took place between the Russian Povetkin and the Ukrainian Klitschko. The Ukrainian did everything possible to keep the opponent at a distance, realizing the danger of rapprochement with him.
The fight lasted all 12 rounds. An interesting fact is that in this fight Povetkin was knocked down for the first time in his career. Klitschko was much more active than the Russian, having completed 139 strikes, against only 31 from Povetkin's side.
After this defeat, Alexander said that Vladimir had surpassed him in tactics. In this regard, he decided to change his coaching staff.
Povetkin signed a contract with the World of Boxing company, as a result of which Ivan Kirpa became his new coach.
In 2014, Alexander knocked out German Manuel Charr and Cameroonian Carlos Takama. The latter was sent to such a strong knockout that for a long time he could not get up from the floor.
The following year, Povetkin confidently defeated Cuban Mike Perez, having won 29 victories in his sports biography. Then the Russian defeated the Pole Mariusz Wach, inflicting a serious cut on his face.
Personal life
Povetkin's first wife was a girl named Irina. Young people got married in 2001, after which they had a daughter, Arina.
The second wife of the athlete was Evgenia Merkulova. Young people legalized the relationship in 2013. It is worth noting that Arina remained to live with her father.
In his interviews, Povetkin stated that he had never smoked and that he was an absolute teetotaler. The man quite often mentions his daughter, saying that he lives and works for her.
In his free time, the boxer is fond of parachuting. It is curious that he positions himself as a Rodnover - a new religious movement of the neo-pagan persuasion, proclaiming as its goal the revival of Slavic pre-Christian rituals and beliefs.
Alexander Povetkin today
In 2016, on the eve of meeting with Deontay Wilder, a scandal erupted. Meldonium was found in Povetkin's blood, as a result of which the battle did not take place.
After that, the fight between Povetkin and Steven was also canceled, since the Russian again failed the doping test.
In 2017, Alexander defeated Ukrainian Andrey Rudenko and Romanian Christian Hammer. The following year, he met with Briton Anthony Joshua.
As a result, the Briton was able to defend the world titles and inflict a second defeat on Alexander Povetkin in his career.
The athlete has his own account on Instagram, where he uploads his photos and videos. By 2020, about 190,000 people have subscribed to its page.
Povetkin Photos
