By Igor Lazorin, tass

Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin is more than ready to fight for the entire twelve rounds in his bout against Britain’s Hughie Fury and has no plans of forcing the knockout.

The fight between 39-year-old Povetkin and 24-year-old Fury at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night.

"I will be simply boxing. I will not be pumping up myself for a knockout," Povetkin said in an interview with TASS. "I trained with a focus on the close fight. I sparred with tall partners, tried approaching closer and worked on avoiding the opponent’s jabs, using them for various combinations, dodging, stepping aside."

This will be third fight in Great Britain for Povetkin, who also fought professional boxing bouts in Russia and in Germany.

"Russia is Russia and certainly all people are rooting for you and the same thing is in Germany," he said. "In England they understand boxing more. At least this is how it looks like to me."

"Perhaps, people love boxing here because this is where it originated," Povetkin continued. "It is very significant here. I have noticed great attendance of halls and stadiums, how many spectators turn up."

Asked about his plans after the fight with Fury, Povetkin said: "You know, I would rather make no predictions. I need to fight this bout at first."

"Of course I would’ve liked a bout with Tyson Fury, because he repeatedly stated before that he wanted to face me," Povetkin said. "My promoters should be asked why this fight still has not taken place."

Late last year Povetkin underwent a surgery on his elbows and media reported later that the Russian boxer was most likely to hold his next fight in the US city of Chicago in May. However, Povetkin stated in late March that as his next possible fight was still unscheduled, he continued practicing hard.

Povetkin, who turns 40 in September, said at that time that he was "not thinking about finishing my sports career."

On September 22, 2018, Anthony Joshua defeated Povetkin in the seventh round with a technical knockout, defending his WBA (World Boxing Association), WBO (World Boxing Organization) and IBF (International Boxing Federation) world heavyweight titles..

Povetkin is known to the fans as the ‘Russian Vityaz,’ and boasts a record of 34 wins (24 KOs) and two defeats throughout his career. The Russian boxer captured a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

Hughie Fury, who is a cousin of former IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO champion Tyson Fury, has a record of 23 wins (13 by KOs) and two defeats.