Hughie Fury vs Alexander Povetkin: predictions from two unbeaten British heavyweights

It is fair to say that the majority of observers were not overly impressed with the choice of faded former WBC heavyweight champion Sam Peter as the most recent opponent for Hughie Fury. On a crazy card out in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a bland retirement win for the ex-WBO title challenger will not have converted many of the detractors.

Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn may have seen something he liked however, recently signing Fury to his stable and, if rumours are to be believed, planning to throw him in at the deep end. It has long been known that Russia’s former WBA ruler Alexander Povetkin, last seen giving then-unified champ Anthony Joshua problems before losing by stoppage in September 2018, was likely to return to the UK on August 31. That O2 show, topped by Vasyl Lomachenko vs Luke Campbell, would have seen Povetkin meet Dave Allen if the latter had defeated David Price earlier this month. However, Price dominated Allen and there is not huge demand for a rematch between the Liverpudlian and Povetkin, who got off the deck to beat the giant last year.

So Povetkin needs a dance partner and Hughie, Matchroom’s latest signing, needs a fight to reestablish himself on the world scene. The stars have, seemingly, aligned. We asked unbeaten British heavyweights Fabio Wardley and Joe Joyce what will happen if this fight does indeed take place.

Joe Joyce – 10-0 (9) WBA Gold champion
Hughie is hard to hit, so it could be a boring fight. Povetkin is strong but much smaller. He will have to try to get to Hughie who’ll be very slippery. I’ve sparred Hughie and he is good, slick, he has good boxing ability. In his fights he can seem pretty negative, as he sticks mainly to jabs and straight right hands. If Povetkin could still bang a bit he could get Hughie in trouble, but Hughie may be young enough and fresh enough to win on points, although it may not be the best fight to watch.

Fabio Wardley – 8-0 (7) hot prospect
I think it’s a great match-up and credit to Hughie Fury for taking such a tricky fight for his Matchroom debut. I think Povetkin will come out firing for the first three-four rounds, which Fury will deal with, with his peppering jab and good footwork. And then Hughie will start to slowly pick him apart round after round on his way to a comfortable points decision.