Atlas promises busy next few months for Povetkin
After ducking out of a mandatory bout with heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, former Olympic gold medallist Alexander Povetkin has found his way back to boxing headlines.
Trainer Teddy Atlas says the Russian undefeated prospect will have a very busy next few months. Povetkin, who was initially scheduled to challenge WBO/IBF/IBO champion Klitschko earlier this month, bowed out after Atlas announced he was not yet prepared
for the bout. Povetkin was replaced by Samuel Peter, who suffered a tenth round KO at the hands of Klitschko two weekends ago.
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) was so frustrated with Povetkin’s refusal to take up his mandatory bout they removed him from their top ten rankings. Atlas, however, recently said he is not concerned over rankings. He said he will have his fighter
fight often in coming months, so that he gains experience for a prospective title fight.
"In 10 years, nobody will remember what place you had in the rankings,” Atlas argued. “Only the champions remain in history, and our goal is to win a championship. And to achieve that, Sasha needed to have more fights. He only has 19 fights and that's not
a lot. At the same time, Wladimir Klitschko just had his 36th title fight.”
Atlas suggested that keeping Povetkin busy is hand-in-hand with success in the professional of boxing, saying that a person in any profession “needs to have a consistent practice.” He continued: “If a doctor didn't conduct an operation for two years, I
think he would be very nervous when he had to operate. It's like an inexperienced lawyer; he's going to have a small chance of winning against his more experienced colleagues in a court room. And it's the same in boxing."
While opponents have not been named for Povetkin, Atlas suggested the dates October 30, December 4, and January 15. It is unlikely that Povetkin will compete against top contenders of his division until he flattens three mid-level fighters.
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