Povetkin impresses with stoppage of Boswell

Brendan Gabraith from ringside: In the co-headline bout, WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin stopped Cedric Boswell in the eighth round of an impressive performance in Helsinki on Saturday night.
Teddy Atlas’ ‘work in progress’ was expected to be given a stern test by veteran campaigner Cedric Boswell and for the first four rounds it was a fairly competitive fight. However, after three close rounds that Povetkin shaded, the Atlas prodigy established control in the fourth. Povetkin steadily increased his pressure ducking under the jab and stepping in with quick left and right hooks. Povetkin continued to control the fight, getting through with his leads with more authority and increasing consistently as Boswell started to feel the pace. Boswell’s earlier stiff jab was by now replaced with a sluggish, lazy jab that invited Povetkin to step up his counters.
From the sixth round onwards, Povetkin stepped in to land flush hooks on Boswell's unprotected head and the writing looked to be on the wall. Towards the end of the seventh, Povetkin trapped Boswell in the corner and unleashed a flurry of short hooks, forcing the referee to take a long, hard look, but Boswell was saved by the bell. At 2:58 of round eight the referee stopped the contest, Boswell’s brave effort finally succumbed under a barrage of heavy punches; the finisher was a heavy right hook that laid Boswell on the canvas.
Povetkin, who received a great ovation when he entered the ring, saluted the cheering crowd after his excellent performance. This was a good win for Povetkin and he showed a good tight guard as he manoeuvred in and out of the pocket against the rangy and quick handed Boswell.