World Boxing Association (WBA) (fake) heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin defends his title against cruiserweight champion Marco Huck Tomorrow! Saturday, February 25, in the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. The fight will be televised live in the U.S. exclusively on EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service. EpixHD.com will stream the fights live as part of a special free trial offer for boxing fans. Both will begin at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.
The Povetkin-Huck rumble is the second of three heavyweight title fights airing on consecutive weeks, exclusively to the U.S., via EPIX and EpixHD.com. Last Saturday, Vitali Klitschko successfully defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) crown, winning a unanimous decision over world-rated contender Dereck Chisora. Next Saturday! March 3, unified world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his belts against two-time cruiserweight champion Jean Marc Mormeck.
As has become the custom, EPIX will once again present the closed-captioned simulcast of the three world heavyweight championship fights on a jumbotron in Times Square (Broadway between 44th and 45th Sts.)
“I prepared in my home city of Chekhov. Working with Alexander Zimin has been very good. There is a good chemistry between us and we get along very well. I am in great shape for Saturday,” said Povetkin.“
“I had a good camp. The sparring sessions helped me to build a lot of confidence. I also expected the training for this fight to be a bit different compared to my latest title defenses at cruiserweight. However, to be honest, there was no big change leading up to this bout, at least not training-wise,” said Huck. “But the media and fan interest has been gigantic. That was to be expected, though, because we are fighting for the biggest prize in boxing!”
Povetkin (23-0, 16 KOs), of Russia, captured the vacant WBA heavyweight title last August, winning a gutsy unanimous decision over former WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev, who entered the fight as the No. 1-rated contender. Povetkin, the 2004 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, has an impressive resume which includes a knockout victory over former two-time heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, and unanimous decision victories over one-time heavyweight title challenger Eddie Chambers and former U.S. Olympians Jason Estrada and Larry Donald. Povetkin, who has been promoted by Sauerland Event throughout his entire professional career, enters this fight having won four of his last six bouts by knockout, which includes his most recent title defense, an eighth-round stoppage of Cedric Boswell on December 3. All of Povetkin’s heavyweight title fights have been televised live in the U.S. on EPIX.
Huck (34-1, 25 KOs), of Berlin, Germany, enters this fight riding a four-year, 15-bout winning streak. He captured the WBO cruiserweight crown in 2009 with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Victor Ramirez. Huck has successfully defended that title eight times, five by knockout.
