Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Joshua vs Povetkin weigh-in - as it happened: Brit comes in almost 2 stone heavier than rival ahead of Wembley fight

Joshua came in at 17st, 8lbs, 5oz, while the man who will try to prize his titles away weighs 15st, 12lbs

Adam Hamdani
Friday 21 September 2018 08:52 EDT
Comments
Anthony Joshua v Alexander Povetkin press conference

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Anthony Joshua faces a gruelling test against mandatory Alexander Povetkin on Saturday evening, where not only will his WBA (super) strap be on the line at Wembley but his IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles too.

The pair will face off in front of an expected 80,000 strong crowd and as the unified champion described himself, it will be the "second toughest" contest of his professional career - behind Wladimir Klitschko of course, who famously became the first and only man to floor Joshua the last time he travelled to Wembley for a fight.

Many wanted and expected Joshua's opponent to be Deontay Wilder, with the idea of one man walking out with every possible belt available to them. Instead, and because of multiple reasons which pretty much all boil down to bravado and money, the American will face Tyson Fury before the year is out in a potential fight of the year contender.

Povetkin has lost just one of his 35 fights, losing on points to the great Klitschko in October 2013. Since then he has won eight consecutive fights, including a knockout victory over David Price on the Joshua-Parker undercard. Ominously, he has never been stopped.

Meanwhile, Joshua will be looking to extend his flawless professional record to 22-0 in his third fight at Wembley.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load...

It's all over. Joshua weighs in at 17st, 8lbs, 5oz and the man who will try to prize his titles away comes in at 15st, 12lbs.

Join The Independent's live coverage of fight night on Saturday, which will include the full undercard and everything from Wembley Stadium.

If you're not sure what time, where and how you can watch it all, we'll leave you with this

Adam Hamdani21 September 2018 13:48

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in