It was evident that Povetkin’s chin was just not there anymore. (Photo: Matchroom Boxing)

From Gibraltar, United Kingdom, former world title challenger Alexander Povetkin (36-3-1, 25 KOs) faced Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) in a 12-round bout shown live in the US on the DAZN streaming platform. This was a rematch of their August 2020 fight, which saw Povetkin down twice but coming back in the fourth round with a surprise one-punch KO to stop the favorite Whyte.

Povetkin, now 38, has seen better days. He’s still a good fighter, but his punch resistance isn’t nearly where it should be any longer; and like all older athletes, his physical reflexes are too slow to match what his mind recognizes needs to be done.

Whyte, the “money” fighter whose promoter Matchroom put on the event, was supposed to win the first time around; it seemed highly unlikely that he would lose a second time to the guy who was brought here to lose.

They started fairly fast in the first round, both looking for the knockout. Povetkin was shaken a couple of times by punches from Whyte that didn’t seem like they should have bothered him as much as they did.

It continued like that in the first three rounds. Povetkin was just too old, too slow, to pull the trigger on everything he wanted to do, and his legs were those of an old fighter. He caught Whyte now and then with something decent, but overall it was Whyte being more effective and landing the better, cleaner punches.

In the fourth, it all came to a head when Whyte landed another clean shot upstairs that staggered Povetkin once again. Whyte followed it up with another right hand, then a left hook that put Povetkin down on the canvas.

It was evident that Povetkin’s chin was just not there anymore. His punch resistance was shot. He made the count, but it seemed all he could do. When he got to his feet, his legs were shaky and the referee correctly waved it off.