Although not at his best, undefeated Russian WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (23-0, 16KO’s) still had enough to see off American challenger Cedric Boswell (35-2, 26KO’s) tonight, knocking him out in the eighth round of their bout at the at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. Boswell gave a decent enough account of himself and Povetkin didn’t look in top form, but in the end got the job done and that’s all that really matters.

Boswell, at 42, looked fresh for his age and for the first few rounds matched Povetkin for speed. A solid, long jab kept Povetkin thinking but it was the Russian that looked the more aggressive. Throwing hooks and uppercuts, Povetkin tried to penetrate Boswell’s defense but for the most part didn’t really succeed.

It was almost turning into a mini-crisis for Povetkin. During the rounds trainer Teddy Atlas was getting more and more animated, trying to push Povetkin on, and in the end it did the trick.

Whether Boswell was tiring, Povetkin was inspired or a combination of the two, the fight took a dramatic change in the middle rounds. Gradually Boswell looked to be struggling and Povetkin’s punches were landing more cleanly. A right hand staggered Boswell in the eight before a left hook-right hand combination from Povetkin put him flat on his back. The referee’s count was academic and Boswell was counted out as he lay prone on his back in the middle of the ring.

Povetkin’s trainer Teddy Atlas famously advised his charge against taking a fight with Wladimir Klitschko earlier this year and from this performance you can understand why. Although victorious, based on this performance there still appears a lot of work needed on Povetkin before he’s be ready to face the likes of the Klitschko brothers.

Also on the card Finland’s undefeated Robert Helenius (17-0, 11KO’s) came through the toughest fight of his career against England’s Dereck Chisora (15-2, 9KO’s) over twelve exciting rounds at heavyweight. The fight, for the vacant European title, was action-packed and went right down to the wire.

Chisora could be accused of not working hard enough at times, choosing instead to showboat and fool around, but it didn’t detract too much from a close fight that was only separated by one round on all three judges cards. Chisora could even consider himself unlucky not to get the decision.

Neither man’s stock will have been hurt by this fight and Helenius can look forward to bigger and better things in the near future. For Chisora it must feel like a form of redemption following his poor loss to British rival Tyson Fury in July, despite suffering another loss.

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