Alexander Povetkin inflicted a second career defeat on Dillian Whyte with a stunning fifth-round knockout on Saturday.
Povetkin (now 36-2-1, 25 KOs) had lost all four rounds prior to the finish, including a 10-7 in the third after Whyte (now 27-2, 18 KOs) caught him twice for a pair of knockdowns in what was otherwise a heavyweight clinic from “The Body Snatcher”.
Vicious KO by Alexander Povetkin against Dillian Whyte. My word. pic.twitter.com/7XMcyRcFTZ
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 22, 2020
“I went down twice but it was OK. It was not too much damage,” Povetkin told Sky Sports.
“I was watching his fights and I see that he was missing uppercuts from the left and from the right. All my training I trained for those shots and it was definitely one of the best punches of my career.”
Povetkin appeared to be on borrowed time until one perfect power punch changed everything. Whyte hit the canvas hard, and the referee did not even go to the 10-count, immediately calling the finish.
According to reports, there was a rematch clause which Whyte will exercise before the end of the year.
