Former World Champ Povetkin Retires After Struggle With Covid-19

Muhammad Rameez Published June 13, 2021 | 10:50 PM

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Jun, 2021 ) :Former world heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin said on Sunday that he was ending his career because he needed time to fully recover from coronavirus.

"I am no longer young. I have decided to end my career," the 41-year-old, who held the WBA regular title from 2011-13 and also won gold in the super-heavyweight class at the 2004 Olympics, told the TASS news agency.

Povetkin was WBC interim heavyweight champion from 2020 until March this year when he lost on a TKO to Briton Dillian Whyte in Gibraltar.

Povetkin said he had been ill with Covid-19 and that he "needs a lot of treatment after the coronavirus".

"It will take a long time, and I am not 20 years old anymore," he said.

He said the illness had made it hard for him to train or fight.

"I feel as if I am drunk," he said.

Povetkin finishes his professional career with a record of 36 wins (including 25 knockouts), three losses and one draw.