Hughie Fury is certainly no stranger to tough fights, and many believe his latest assignment may very well be the toughest of all them when he faces Alexander Povetkin as the chief support to Luke Campbell’s highly-anticipated showdown with the formidable Vasyl Lomachenko.
Povetkin has experienced decidedly mixed fortunes in his last two outings against Fury’s compatriots David Price and Anthony Joshua; prevailing in a dramatic five-round shootout against the former before being stopped in devastating fashion against the latter.
The Russian will be looking to return to winning ways against heavyweight hopeful Fury, who has recently inked a deal with Matchroom Boxing. Peter Fury, Hughie’s father and trainer, is optimistic that their partnership with Eddie Hearn will enable his son to secure the necessary fights to get into position for another crack at the world title following a controversial majority-decision defeat to Joseph Parker in September 2017.
An attempt to assert himself as the IBF mandatory challenger in October 2018 was also unsuccessful. In fighting Kubrat Pulev on away soil, Fury after a lively start suffered an unsightly cut in the early rounds and was thereafter comfortably outpointed by the Bulgarian.
Fury has since rebounded with two stoppage victories; eviscerating the unheralded Chris Norrad in two rounds and forcing seasoned veteran Samuel Peter to quit on his stool after seven uneventful rounds.
This is ultimately one of the most intriguing heavyweight matchups of the year and although Povetkin is favoured courtesy of his superior experience and the wins on his resume, the fact remains that Hughie has the potential to spring an upset with his sheer size, awkwardness, and busy lead left hand.
Preview by: Navi Singh
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