WBC interim heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin has been working on his defence and will be not focusing on another knockout show when he rematches Dillian Whyte in Gibraltar on March 27.
Russian veteran Povetkin twice rose from the canvas to stun Londoner Whyte with a highlight reel KO in the fifth round at Matchroom’s Fight Camp last August.
A rematch was twice postponed after Povetkin battled Covid-19, but now the former WBA heavyweight title holder is fit and ready to resume his intriguing rivalry with Whyte.
“I feel good. There were problems after the coronavirus, but we fixed them all. It was hard to get involved in the training process after the illness, but everything is normal now. [Preparation was] surprisingly good. I am glad that Magomedrasul Majidov came and helped me have good sparring and training sessions,” Povetkin told the daily Izvestia newspaper in Russia.
“I worked on defence. We worked on it in camp: in order to punch from angles – to dodge and punch. I will try not to leave myself open as much. Fighting and training are two completely different things, but I think we have definitely fixed things. We worked out different combinations – doing them from below and from the side. He loves to hit from below in the opposite direction. We worked hard to nullify his punches and respond quickly with our own.
“I try not to think about [knocking out Whyte in their first meeting]. What happened in the past is already gone. I’m looking at the goal. The fight is coming soon and I need to get to it. He is a good strong boxer. I have to take a responsible approach to the fight, prepare and it is necessary to show beautiful boxing.
“I don’t think that if I knocked him out in the first fight, it means that that I will definitely knock him out again in the second. If you think like that, you will definitely lose. And I never go out to lose. Anything can happen, but I always go out to win.”