WBA regular heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin has been shedding the pounds ahead of his title defense against Hasim Rahman, the Russian’s trainer Kostya Tszyu said Wednesday.
The undefeated Povetkin will defend his belt against former WBC and IBF champion Rahman in Hamburg on September 29 in a fight that could take Povetkin a step closer to challenging WBA super champion Wladimir Klitschko.
“He’s lost a certain amount of ballast that was getting in his way,” said Tszyu, himself a former WBC, WBA and IBF champion at light welterweight.
“But his weight’s remained the same as before, just the muscles have grown.”
Povetkin has also boosted his endurance since June, Tszyu said.
“In that short space of time, he’s added an extra 20 percent to his stamina. I’ve never once seen him look tired.”
Tszyu’s comments follow Povetkin’s manager Vlad Hrunov saying last month that Rahman is overweight, prompting the American’s promoter to say his fighter had lost over 18 kilograms and criticize Povetkin’s camp as “classless.”
Povetkin has won all of his 24 fights, with 16 wins by way of knockout, while Rahman has a 50-7 record win two draws and one no contest.
