Klitschko readiness rating: Does Alexander Povetkin have a chance against Wladimir Klitschko?

In terms of world championship belts, only two fighters have any logical claim on challenging heavyweight top dog Wladimir Klitschko: his big brother Vitali, the WBC champ; and Alexander Povetkin, the WBA "regular" (read "fake") beltholder. Since Vitali and Wladimir have long and loudly proclaimed they will never fight each other, that makes Povetkin the sole, rightful challenger to Wladimir's place as boxing's biggest, baddest man. Yet is the Russian Vityaz ready to duke it out with Dr. Steelhammer? Check out the latest installment of our Klitschko Readiness Rating series, where we examine the top contenders in the heavyweight division and grade them and their chances against the brothers Klitschko. Povetkin and Klitschko: We Were Almost Here Before Credit: Andreas Sauer Povetkin was first set to challenge Wladimir in 2009, after a solid winning streak that culminated in his winning an IBF title eliminator. At that time, Povetkin was a rising prospect ...