Boxing: Klitschko desperate to hand Povetkin first loss
MOSCOW. October 1. KAZINFORM Four-belt world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko vowed Monday he would "do anything" to hand unbeaten Russian challenger Alexander Povetkin his first defeat when the two meet on October 5.
Klitschko has not tasted defeat since 2004 and his fight with Povetkin in Moscow will end five years of "will they-won't they" negotiations between the two fighters' camps.
"I'll do anything to spoil Povetkin's record," he told Moskovskie Novosti, a sister publication to R-Sport. "I know it will be very tricky to do it, but I'll be trying to get the win by knockout."
Klitschko added there would be "no politics" in a fight some media have characterized as symbolic of the often fraught relations between Russia and Klitschko's native Ukraine, Kazinform refers to R-Sport.
Povetkin has a 26-fight unbeaten record, while Klitschko is 60-3.
Organizers have said Saturday's fight at Moscow's Olimpiisky arena is nearly sold out, which would make it one of the most popular boxing matches in Russian history.