Rahman vs. Povetkin vs. Huck
If Alexander Povetkin is the WBA’s “regular” heavyweight champion, does that make Wladimir Klitschko the WBA’s “irregular” champion?
The WBA “regular” heavyweight champion, Alexander Povetkin (23-0, 16 KOs), is being handled carefully, but at least he’s being handled and at least he seems willing to fight on a “regular” basis.
Last week, Povetkin agreed to meet WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (34-1, 25 KOs) on Feb. 25 at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The 27-year-old Huck is the real deal, someone who climbs through the ropes to win. And now Huck going to take that step which every cruiserweight eventually takes, which is to move up in weight to compete with the big boys.
“We have reached an agreement,” an excited Huck said. “I want to do what no other German has managed since Max Schmeling. I want to be heavyweight world champion. I am totally motivated and will give everything I have got to reach this goal.”
Schmeling was a great fighter and a great heavyweight champ. Anything Huck can do to honor “Der Max” is something we support. Unlike so many others whose mouths are bigger than their hearts, Huck has as good a chance as anyone of defeating the sturdy but work-in-progress that is Povetkin
“This is without doubt the heavyweight blockbuster of the year,” gushed promoter Kalle Sauerland. “These are two true gladiators against each other, both of which have great power and speed. To the boxing fans who want to finally see interesting fights in the premier class, I can only say the wait is over!”
But is it?
The prospect of Wladimir Klitschko fighting Jean-Marc Mormeck, who hasn’t fought in over a year and is small even for a cruiserweight, on March 3 appeals to almost no one. But Vitali’s fight against Dereck Chisora looks promising, at least insofar as Chisora is an actual heavyweight who, the judges’ scorecards notwithstanding, defeated Great White Hope Robert Helenius in Finland on the undercard of Povetkin’s last fight against Cedric Boswell on Dec. 3.
So Povetkin vs. Huck is a done deal, right?
Wrong.
Enter former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman stage left.
Rahman is the current WBA #1 contender and mandatory challenger, and he has no intention of stepping aside for Marco Huck or anybody else.
“Rahman is Povetkin’s mandatory,” said Rahman’s promoter Greg Cohen. “Povetkin already had an optional defense against Cedric Boswell. I have the letter from the WBA. Povetkin has until February 27th to fight against Rahman. The only way they could fight Marco Huck is if we stepped aside and we’re NOT stepping aside.
“There have been several erroneous reports about Hasim fighting someone else or of someone else fighting Alexander Povetkin. We wish to state for the record that Hasim Rahman fully intends to enforce his mandatory status and face Alexander Povetkin early next year.”
Until this latest mess is sorted out, we at least have Klitschko vs. Chisora on Feb 18 to look forward to.
