I think Povetkin is a bit overrated (2024)

I agree with some of your points, but I still think he's amongst the very best to never win a title.

"1. PEDs bust. He actually had two, one of which was completely manufactured. The second one had legs, and everything he accomplished has to be seen through that lens."

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I don't see this as an issue since every top HW since at least the 80s has been on some type of performance enhancers. Him getting caught puts it beyond all doubt in his case, but realistically are we to assume that the likes of Tua, Ike etc weren't also heavily on the juice? It's just a reality of the sport at this point.

"2. Big wins weren't that big. Byrd and Rahmen were both some degree of shot, so his big wins were probably Chagaev, Whyte, Chambers, and an either-way against Huck. Yeah, he has a lot of good fringe contenders on the resume, but at the very highest end, he was not exactly an inevitable uncrowned champ."

This is a fair point. He has one of those very deep resumes without any truly great or defining wins to elevate him. I do just about rate Byrd at the time Povetkin beat him, but Rahman was completely washed up and not worth considering. I also rate the Chambers that Povetkin fought who was still a very good and tricky fighter back then, and just about rate the version of Chagaev he beat (though he was past his prime as well). Whyte was a great victory and probably his best win, especially as Povetkin was one foot out the retirement door and could barely move anymore. Takam and Perez I think are v. good wins as well. I also rate his win over Cedric Boswell who was quite a solid but under the radar guy, and a relatively prime Charr, Hammer, Duhaupas and Wach aren't awful to have on his resume as well. Huck is a very good win if you give it to him.

"3. Oh yeah, almost list to a cruiser. Again, not trying to oversell it. Captain Huck was a cruiserweight champ, it was probably the fight of his life, it was a FOTY candidate, and Povetkin pulled it out. I even had Povetkin winning. But I think a slight majority think that Marco did enough for the win."

Not an issue for me, especially if you're comparing Povetkin to older HWs who might be considered CWs these days anyway. Huck was a lean 210 on the night which is Earnie Shavers or Max Baer territory, and has an argument himself for being one of the best CWs of the early 2000s, and a very wild and dangerous guy in his prime. Huck had the eye-catching moments where he nearly had Povetkin out on his feet (practically did by the end of the final round) while Povetkin controlled the majority of the fight with solid meat and potatoes work that nabbed more of the rounds. Was not a good look for Povetkin at all, but I think he probably won it. Just.

"4. He ran screaming from Wladdy. Maybe some don't remember, but he was supposed to be the Rahman fight, and from what I remember, he just disappeared and could not be found. That's really strange, and if others have forgotten, I have not."

Yes, I remember this. He ducked Wlad for a number of years, and even ended up fighting a dark exhibition against Bert Cooper or someone like that around that time. This was when he was with Atlas. His opposition was dire and his performances sucked. Ironically, when he lost to Wlad he seemed to find his balls and became the no-nonsense knockout artist people remember him as today.

So is he overrated? That always comes down to how highly you rate him to begin with. I think he was a very solid, skilled, physically and mentally tough combination puncher that was in many ways a throwback to an earlier era where fighters routinely fought in phonebooths, but who lacked something that would have elevated him to the upper echelon and was also prone to letting himself get manhandled by larger or dirtier fighters as happened in the Wlad and Huck fights. He could have definitely become a legit champion in another era, but I don't see him ever being the clearcut number one past say the 1940s onwards. He just had a few too many flaws and stylistic limitations.