Alexander Povetkin Fight Camp knockout was no fluke, says David Haye
- Planet Sport writer
- 22 October 2020
Povetkin's win over the Bodysnatcher has been hailed as a lucky knockout by some.
David Haye has been left bemused by claims of Alexander Povetkin landing a "lucky punch" to knock out Dillian Whyte. In August, the Russian got off the deck twice to deliver a stunning right uppercut to end proceedings in the fifth round to win the WBC interim title. It was the final fight of a four-week event at Matchroom's Fight Camp HQ.
Haye, who manages and trains Derek Chisora, revealed his fighter received the same punch during sparring sessions going into the contest and is concerned about Whyte's chances in their rematch.
"It's a very dangerous fight and it's a fight that I think Dillian doesn't want to accept it was nothing other than a lucky punch. He thought, 'I was winning the fight', which he was, 'I had him knocked down twice in the fourth round and I was winning the fifth round until I got hit by one shot and that was it'. Anything can happen in boxing, it happens in the heavyweight division," Haye told Sky Sports.
"I don't think that's the mindset you need. You can't say, 'You won because it was an anomaly'. That left uppercut that he threw knocked out Carlos Takam, in a very even fight, in a very good toe-to-toe fight. It's a shot that he throws regularly. Derek was telling me when he sparred with him, he was getting hit with that shot, so it's one of his shots, and to get hit with someone's best shot isn't very lucky is it.
"The guy has got a big shot. It's like getting caught with Dillian Whyte's left hook. You know it's there if you can practise to go under it, if you throw your right hook to the body or not, or you can stand up and get knocked out."
Whyte will take on Povetkin in a highly-anticipated rematch on November 21.
