Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin: What the mismatch tells us about boxing's promotional Cold War

The storyline has descended into an insinuation that Joshua’s foe, promoted by Russian billionaire Andrey Ryabinskiy, is somehow a member of a specially devised boxing espionage unit

Over the course of this week, Sky Sports subscribers will be harangued by endless sci-fi mini-trailers for Anthony Joshua’s world title defence against Alexander Povetkin until his effigy invades the mind. Open the bathroom door and there he gleams in his impossibly white dressing gown. Close your eyes and his flaming initials burn in the darkness. Awake from the nightmare just before he hoists that unholy uppercut in your direction – oh, um, and don’t forget, it’s ‘BOX OFFICE’.

Through no fault of his own, Joshua’s sixth world title defence with the over-the-hill and undersized Russian has failed to capture the fervour of previous thrashings. Even Eddie Hearn, armed with his sweet-talking parables and gospel pitches fit to rival a Mississippi preacher, has admitted this fight has proven a harder sell for his celestial star.

Joshua’s 10cm taller, 11 years younger and 12kg heavier than Povetkin. Added to the fact that his aged opponent doesn’t speak a scintilla of English, the storyline has descended into an insinuation that Joshua’s foe, promoted by Russian billionaire Andrey Ryabinskiy, is somehow a member of a specially devised boxing espionage unit. In truth, President Putin’s prowess as a judo master would probably serve better in combat than his unofficial ambassador.

When the Moscovite made his reconnaissance mission in March, on the undercard of Joshua’s unification with Joseph Parker, he was almost sent somersaulting by David Price, who at this point is so shopworn he could be couturier to a new line of vintage wear, before eventually delivering the harrowing hook which set up the lucrative bout with Joshua.

Anthony Joshua during his pre-fight public workout this week (AFP/Getty Images) (Getty)

But it’s not just the outmoded challenger causing lurid Cold War reincarnations. Frank Warren and Shelly Finkel, promoters to Tyson Fury and WBC Champion Deontay Wilder respectively, have concocted the ingeniously spiteful ploy of waiting to announce that highly anticipated match-up. Inevitably, the hysteria surrounding boxing’s most brash and bombastic personalities will reduce Joshua’s fight to zakuski as Povetkin would put it – a mighty Russian morsel.

Hearn’s retaliation in the internecine promotional politics is to lay waste to Warren’s own recently announced box-office bout between Leeds’ IBF Featherweight World Champion Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton in Manchester on 22 December. If terms can be agreed for the hostile heavyweight rematch between Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora for the same Christmas Saturday, Hearn knows full well that the public will crave the blood and bad-mouthing of the London behemoths. Although perhaps the most hardcore fans could engage in a mutant cross-eye and fix a single pupil to each screen for the combined price of £36.

Two heads of conflicting regimes, Hearn and Warren have never actually met one another so perhaps that Cold War narrative isn’t quite so ridiculous. But intriguingly the pair will finally come face-to-face at a press conference in October, echoing back to the ill-judged 1961 Vienna Summit. Maybe treaties can be struck, a diplomatic triumph for all. More likely the frost will continue, after all, as Khrushchev said: “Politics is a merciless business.”