Young Heavyweights: Povetkin-Chambers

Last night on HBO's Boxing After Dark, American heavyweight fringe contender Eddie Chambers went to Germany to fight Russian-born, German-based prospect Alexander Povetkin. I watched the fight on HBO and came away less than impressed with either fighter. Having read about Chambers on East Side Boxing, I also came away with the notion that American boxing fans and writers are so desperate for a great American heavyweight that they will make any reasonably talented prospect-cum-fringe contender into the second coming of Larry Holmes, if not Muhammad Ali.

In Chambers' defense, he clearly had the talent to win the fight and he very clearly showed that talent through the first four rounds with exceptionally tight defense, exceptionally clean and effective counter-punching, and an ability to back Povetkin up while on the defensive, because Povetkin was watching for the counter instead of letting his hands go every moment. I gave him rounds one, two, and four scoring the fight on television and I think I might have been too generous to Povetkin in giving him round three. Arguably, Chambers swept the first four rounds.

Then Chambers choked. There's no other word for it. He stopped throwing his jab, he stopped throwing the clean counter rights that had worked so well for him, and he only very rarely threw punches in any kind of combination. An emboldened Povetkin started letting his hands go more and more and, while he wasn't landing very many clean shots at all, he was the only man punching and therefore the only man landing. He also began to clearly back Chambers up with volume shots on his arms and shoulders, and if Chambers' defense was still exceptionally good it didn't matter because he wasn't making Povetkin pay after making him miss.

After arguably sweeping the first four rounds, Chambers equally arguably allowed Povetkin to sweep the remainder of the twelve round fight, doing very little through the remaining eight rounds. I gave Chambers the seventh and ninth based on seeing some clean right hands again, good defense, and some good-looking combinations, but those rounds could have been scored for Povetkin as easily and that's how nearly all the official judges scored them. Two judges scored the fight 117-110 for Povetkin and one had it 116-112. I had it 115-113 off HBO, perhaps being overly generous to Povetkin in round three and perhaps being overly generous to Chambers in rounds seven and nine. I can see the argument for the 116-112 score, which gave Chambers the first four and Povetkin the other eight. 117-110 is excessive, though frustration with knowing what Chambers was able to do could easily have persuaded a judge to give Povetkin a round in which Chambers only did /just/ enough to win without doing more.

Povetkin is now the number one contender for the IBF title held by Vladimir Klitschko. It's hard to consider this fight between a fringe contender and a prospect as a title elimination, but that's what the IBF made it. Which just goes to point out the state of boxing's so-called governing bodies. If Klitschko defeats WBO belt-holder Sultan Ibragimov, as I believe he will, then Povetkin becomes his mandatory challenger. I have a hard time envisioning a Klitschko-Povetkin fight which doesn't end in Povetkin being knocked out and knocked out brutally. Is he really the best available challenger to the best heavyweight in the world, which Klitschko almost certainly is despite not being the genuine heavyweight champion?

Chambers' camp can and will claim that they lost a decision to a European fighter in Germany, and then will likely use that claim to argue they were robbed and thus continue to discourage American prospects and contenders from going to Europe to fight top-European opposition. The argument will be unconvincing to anyone who actually saw the fight, however. Yes, I will agree with a claim that Eddie Chambers should have won the fight. Any claim that he should have been given the decision, however, is ridiculous. He should have won the fight because he was clearly, when he chose to fight, the better fighter. He deserved to lose the decision because he fought like the better fighter so sparingly. His strategy was clearly to let Povetkin punch himself out, but as the late rounds ground on and Povetkin was clearly throwing arm punches with his mouth hanging open to gasp for breath, Chambers refused to take the offensive. He even refused to use the successful box-and-counter tactics of the first four rounds. HBO's Max Kellerman said he felt that Chambers' best move would be to drop to cruiserweight, but I don't think Chambers had a problem with Povetkin's size or power. I think he simply has the same mental syndrome as Jameel McCline: he is good enough to look very good, but not confident enough to stick to a winning strategy for the duration of a fight or to take the offensive when it's clearly time.

I think Eddie Chambers can be a successful heavyweight contender if he shakes that syndrome and starts coming on strong in the late rounds of fights. I think that he doesn't shake that syndrome, a drop to cruiserweight will do him no good.