Here's another review of the fight that I found at the same place:
Povetkin v. Byrd write up (long) - by Langdford
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ending was surprising to me, I was not expecting it to be stopped. When
the ref waived it off, I thought the stoppage was confusing. "What's
with these Euro wimps?" I found myself thinking for a second. I had no
idea the towel had been thrown.
Which raises the question, was the towel thrown in too early? After my
initial surprise I will say I don't think so. It was surprising because
most trainers wouldn't have pulled the plug then, but that doesn't mean
that it was a bad idea. It was clear towards the end how the fight was
heading, whether it would have ended by knockout or not, Byrd had taken
a lot of punishment and was taking more and more as the fight went on.
Yeah, he most likely could have been standing at the end of round 12,
but he would have been beaten pretty badly over the next 4 and a half
boxing minutes and needlessly so. The fight was over before it was
stopped.
Benifit of having a caring person like your father in the corner with you, but
the best advice of the fight came from Byrds son, not father, when he
told his dad not "to hang on the ropes like that". Very strange to see
a kid in the corner of a heavyweight fight.
I had forgotten what a family affair a Chris Byrd fight is. As
concerned as his dad was, and as astute as his son was, I don't
understand Chris Byrd's wife. Her husband had just lost one of the most
important fights of his life, he is beaten and bloody in the corner,
and she walks past him and hugs Povetkin like she is married to HIM and
tells him nice job? WTF is that? I'd a been pissed. Families.
I can honestly say, that I have seen all of Povetkin's fights and I
can't really say that I have seen the guy lose a round before. He lost
at least three tonight. There were moments when Byrd made him look the
worst I have ever seen him look, by far. And, realistically, without
being too hard on Sasha, worse than a heavyweight savior should look in
a pre title fight.
But still, he did well. Although there were more than a couple of
people who picked Byrd to win this, the fight was never in question.
Povetkin has no stamina issues when compared to other heavyweights out
there today and he has very fast hands and puts punches together really
nicely.
The change in dynamics, after round 8, was either that Byrd's age had
caught up to him or Povetkin is also able to adapt. I think it was
both, plus a fair mixture of body shots applied before Chris Byrd
started listening to his son's advice.
For Chris Byrd, I can definitely say that he should hang em up. Not
that he did poorly, but, what is the point of him fighting now? The
answer might be, oddly, that he might do it for the love of the now
almost non-existant American Heavyweight (and of course, money).
After the fight, Byrd mentioned he has not (yet) lost to an American.
Which is interesting. Byrd seems to want to pass his torch to another
American before he cuts out.
He did well enough tonight, and is still a big enough name (and a good
enough win) that if he were to lose his next fight to a promising
American,
he will have definitely done his part to put a spotlight on an American
hopeful. Which, is kind of a classy (if unhealthy) thing to do. Byrd
has always been a class act.
I doubt if there wouldn't be a bunch of boxing fans who wouldn't want
to see a match up like Chris Arreola vs. Byrd or Chazz Witherspoon vs
Byrd turns out. Don't front, you know you would. Byrd probably beats
Witherspoon, though.
And Povetkin? He probably needed this kind of fight to happen to him.
With all the hype that has come his way, in recent photos, he was
starting to look like he might just be believing some of it. He seems
like a down to earth guy, but not losing a fight since many an amatuer
tournament ago, combined with Olympic gold and one of the best, most
one sided, pro starts in recent heavyweight history, can make even the
most humble guy start to think that greatness for them is written in
stone.
Many fighters have to lose, like Joe Louis, or at least get knocked on
their asses, like Ali vs Cooper, to realize that they are human and
that they can be beat, before they have what it takes to go for the
title and pull out and win a close championship fight. This is the kind
of experience that is meant when it is said that a fighter needs
experience. Povetkin got some experience tonight.
A telling moment was dealing with the headbut during round three.
Povetkin lost that round. Not because the cut was troubling, but
because he is clearly not used to being in a situation where things
aren't going his way. A stronger fighter Povetkin this will make.
So what of Povetkin vs. Klitschko? First things first. He has got to
get by the winner of the Brock v. Chambers fight. If he was looking
past this tournament to a match with Klitschko, one hopes he has now
woke up. I don't think either fighter (Brock or Chambers) has what it
takes to beat him, Byrd, in many ways, might make for a tougher outing
than either of this Friday's fighters, (the IBF has put together a good
tournament) but Brock can punch and Chambers is young, fast and
hopefully hungry. The winner of this fight wins kind of a quasi
"American Heavyweight Championship" belt. Or, at the very least, second
billing behind Tony Thompson.
As far as Povetkin beating Klitschko, he might have the style and
talent to do it, but he will have to do better than he did tonight.
Klitschko won't be as big of a riddle as Byrd, but Wlad will give him
much less time to solve it. The shots that Byrd landed on Alex Pov
tonight will feel like playful slaps compared to what Wlad lands.
Povetkin won clearly and cleanly, and deserves a lot of credit. But
Byrd gave him a fair dose of education. Klitschko is the final exam.
Alexander needs to start studying very, very hard.
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Here's my favorite part:
"I had forgotten what a family affair a Chris Byrd fight is. As
concerned as his dad was, and as astute as his son was, I don't
understand Chris Byrd's wife. Her husband had just lost one of the most
important fights of his life, he is beaten and bloody in the corner,
and she walks past him and hugs Povetkin like she is married to HIM and
tells him nice job? WTF is that? I'd a been pissed. Families."
Bwahaha! Looks like Byrd's shrieking trophy white prostitute is ready to move on!
ww
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