Ruslan Chagaev has described tonight’s WBA heavyweight title fight as arguably the most important of his career as he prepares to square off with former Olympic champion Alexander Povetkin.
Chagaev and Povetkin meet in Erfurt, Germany, with the WBA belt up for grabs and the chance to fight undisputed champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Klitschko earned a unanimous decision over Britain’s David Haye in Hamburg at the start of last month to add Haye’s WBA belt to his IBF and WBO crowns.
After his victory over 12 rounds, the WBA promoted him to super champion status, meaning the belt is now vacant and whoever wins at Erfurt’s Messehalle will have a chance to challenge Klitschko.
“This is probably the most important fight of my life,” said Uzbekistan’s Chagaev, who has 17 knock-outs from 27 victories with just one defeat.
“I have given no thought to defeat,” he said.
Chagaev, 32, is fighting again for the same title he took from Russian giant Nikolai Valuev in Stuttgart in April 2007 with a majority decision.
A torn achilles tendon injury in 2008 saw him lose the belt before he lost a title fight to Klitschko in Gelsenkirchen in June 2009 after retiring in the ninth round.
Against Klitschko, he climbed into the ring under-prepared as a late replacement after original opponent Haye pulled out of the fight, but this time there is no mistake, with 106 rounds of sparring under his belt.
“I am perfectly prepared and will give everything,” said the devout Muslim and father of two sons. “Only the Lord knows how the fight will end, of course, I can go over twelve rounds, but I’ll try to end the fight prematurely.”
Victory tonight would give Chagaev another shot at Klitschko.
“I’ve already conquered the world’s best, and I hope that things go well at the second attempt,” Chagaev said.
However, he faces a tough task against the unbeaten Povetkin.
“Saturday is finally the moment for which I have been waiting so long, I want to fulfill my dream of winning a world title,” said the 2004 Olympic heavyweight champion, who is unbeaten from 21 fights with 15 knock-outs.
“Ruslan is a strong-willed athlete who never gives up, he has a real warrior spirit,” he said.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS