‘If Alexander Povetkin catches Anthony Joshua, he could go’ – former sparring partner has warning for Brit

Alexander Povetkin has the experience to cause an upset against Anthony Joshua on Saturday, insists British heavyweight Daniel Dubois who has sparred with the Russian.

Dubois, an unbeaten 21-year-old from Greenwich, was summoned to work at Povetkin’s base south of Moscow.

Dubois believes Povetkin, the former WBA world champion, has the ring craft and power to inflict Joshua’s first defeat in front of 80,000 at Wembley.

He said: “Povetkin is 39 and that means he has been around for a long time and knows a lot. He understands how to deal with every situation. He’s over 15st and any fighter like that can whack, too.

“Alexander is perfectly capable of causing an upset even though you have to go with Joshua as the favourite because he is younger. Anything can happen in heavyweight boxing.

“If Povetkin caught Joshua, he could go — and the same would be true if Joshua caught him.

“I found that Povetkin was very technical, patient and careful. He may be slowing down a bit but he looked very fresh when we worked together.”

Povetkin is the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s WBA belt, with his IBF, WBO and IBO titles also on the line. The winner could face a unification clash with America’s WBC champion Deontay Wilder or Britain’s former world champion Tyson Fury — with their December fight in the US set to be confirmed on Monday. Wembley is already booked for Joshua’s next fight on April 13.

Povetkin reigned as WBA champion between 2011 and 2013 before suffering his only defeat in 35 fights when he lost a unanimous points decision against Wladimir Klitschko in Moscow.

Joshua knocked out the 42-year-old Klitschko in the 11th round in his most memorable victory at Wembley last year.Povetkin won the super-heavyweight gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and delivered a stunning fifth- round knockout of Liverpool’s David Price when he boxed on the undercard of Joshua’s title defence against Joseph Parker in Cardiff in March.

Another common opponent is Carlos Takam, who was knocked out in the 10th round by Povetkin in 2014. Joshua also scored a 10th-round stoppage of the Frenchman last October in Cardiff.

Meanwhile Dubois, who has won his eight fights by knockout and faces Kevin Johnson next in Leicester on October 6, couldn’t believe his good fortune when Povetkin’s camp contacted him.

He added: “I jumped at the chance and it was a great experience.”