Friday night at the Luzhniki Arena in Moscow, Russia, former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (27-1, 19 KOs) bounced back from his loss to Wladimir Klitschko last year to score a decisive seventh round knockout over Vitali Klitschko victim, Manuel Charr (26-2, 15 KOs), to win the vacant WBC International heavyweight title.
Povetkin entered the ring in shape and pressed the action. Charr used his jab effectively, but it wasn?t enough to keep the former champion at bay. With an uppercut and left hook at his disposal, Sasha rocked Charr in the first two rounds. Charr came close to winning round three. Povetkin unloaded in rounds four through six, before delivering the coup de grace in the seventh, a three-punch combination that knocked his opponent down and out.
Referee Massimo Barrovecchio waved it off at 1:09.
Charr may be a steppingstone for heavyweight hopefuls not quite ready for primetime. Povetkin, no matter how impressive the win, doesn?t have what it takes to defeat Dr. Steelhammer. But there are heavyweights out there who might want to take a shot at the Russian Vityaz before getting it on with The Man.
