Kostya Tszyu was unprepared for his temporary role of Alexander Povetkin’s head coach, but used his supreme pugilistic experience to give his new protégé a maximum amount of knowledge along with a some useful advice. No truth to the rumors, though, that the living boxing legend Tszyu sign on more than one workout. However this one occasion was something special for all participants.

The open workout featuring Alexander Povetkin and Kostya Tszyu was conducted in a huge gym located at the very entrance to Goluboy Gorodok (“The Blue Borough”) training facility, several kilometers outside of Chekhov. It was first planned that Tszyu would assist his former amateur trainer and Povetkin’s current mentor Valery Ivanovich Belov during the media workout. But, just when the training session was ready to start it was revealed that Belov had fallen ill and would be incapable of guiding his top student. So Tszyu entered the gym under camera clicks to replace Valery Ivanovich as Povetkin’s coach.

Three more fighters had been already awaiting Tszyu and Povetkin in the gym for a short amount of time. Experienced vets Jameel ‘The Big Time’ McCline and Larry ‘The Legend’ Donald will help ‘The White Lion’ to pounce on his next opponent. The third sparring partner of Povetkin is a bit different as Kevin Johnson, ranked 7th by the WBA, is just 28 years old.

Povetkin started the session with an elongated warm-up. He was jumping, jump-roping and shadowboxing outside the ring while Tszyu tested ropes and spoke to Povetkin’s co-manager Vladimir Hrunov and the American sparring partners. After 45 minutes of exercising, Povetkin finally step into the ring to spend three three-minute rounds with each of three sparring partners.

First to test Povetkin was McCline who tried to use his imposing physical stature and uncommon power on Povetkin. Rounds were hot and intensive as Jameel forced Alexander to stand with him toe-to-toe in the center of the ring and trade punches. McCline was clocked with Povetkin’s right several times but dealt his share of damage with a crushing left hook which stunned Alexander for a moment.

Both Donald and Johnson chose another style of boxing by trying to fool the Russian prospect from long range. Donald looked slow but used his good timing to puncture Povetkin’s face with a jab and to avoid Povetkin's punishing combinations on several occasions. Kevin Johnson was visibly faster than Donald but too inactive to cause any problems for Povetkin.

All three fighters were greeted by both Povetkin and Tszyu after the workout and received their share of applause from local junior pugilists and spectators.

Right after the workout Vladimir Hrunov took a microphone to make some comments. First of all he revealed the undercard of the show.

In what seems to be a co-featured bout of the evening, sensational Russian knockout artist Dmitry Pirog (11-0, 10 KOs) will continue to fight high-profile opponents by squaring off against his most dangerous career opponent in Bronco McKart (51-8-1, 31 KOs). WBC #15 Pirog is virtually unknown abroad but is highly-regarded here as one of the brightest Russian prospects. He has wins over local stars Sergey Tatevosyan, Aslanbek Kodzoev and Alexey Chirkov on his resume. American McKart is a savvy veteran of sixty fights who was once a WBO light middleweight titleholder and fought such persons as Winky Wright (three times), Kelly Pavlik and Verno Phillips. In his most recent outing McKart earned a draw against current IBF mandatory challenger Raul Marquez.

Another fighter to make a huge leap up in class is Dzhimi Kapanov (6-0, 4 KOs). The talented but untested Russian fighter, who is competing under the aegis of Vladimir Hrunov, will take on 43-year-old former IBF cruiserweight champion Arthur Williams (44-15-1, 30 KOs).

Also Roman Seliverstov (7-7, 1 KO) was chosen for Michael Trabant’s (43-3-1, 19 KOs) comeback fight after his painful loss to Andre Berto earlier this year.

The younger of Povetkin brothers, Vladimir (5-0, 1 KO) is penciled to fight unbeaten Georgian George Tevdorashvili (4-0-1, 3 KOs).

Comebacking Denis Lebedev (13-0, 8 KOs) is set to fight another Georgian import Archil Mezvrishvili (8-2, 2 KOs). Lebedev missed almost four years due to various problems outside the sport.

Watching the show will be IBF president Marian Muhammad. Also negotiations are under way to bring heavyweight legend Lennox Lewis into the city. In a unique event, Chekhov will be presented with the special Everlast ring. According to Hrunov, Povetkin teammates Nikolai Valuev and the reigning IBF champion Arthur Abraham will be showcased during the event and the show.

Brief quotes from the participants of the workout:

Kostya Tszyu:

“I’m very glad to be here and to help Alexander prepare for his next fight. Though Povetkin is an excellent, versatile fighter, he has lots of work to do and lots of tricks to learn. He needs to learn as much as he can. I was still learning even when after ten years as a champion. Speaking of Alexander’s talent I actually don’t know its magnitude. Only his future fights will show how much talent he has.”

About his possible fight with Jackie Chan: “Unfortunately, this match-up is off. Jackie is a symbol of the 2008 Summer Olympics and I guess it’s very disrespectful from me to beat such a person in his own homeland. The Chinese government forbids this fight.”

About his possible retirement: “Nothing new. The final word is still to be said. You can see here my pigtail. That means I’m not officially retired.”

Alexander Povetkin: “It was a useful experience to box such skillful guys as Johnson, McCline and Donald. I’m also very happy that Kostya Tszyu whom I admire very much found a time to teach me some new tricks. I hope they will play out in a real fight. I know lots of work is ahead of me. I still have to learn and learn again.”

Kevin Johnson: “Alex is a great fighter! I think he is ultimately talented and very strong. I think his work rate is somewhat unique for a heavyweight. You get tired and he is still banging like that – Bang-Bang! However, he does have some shortcomings. First of all, his footwork isn’t perfect. He needs to improve it. Then he is a bit too predictable. He does everything right but he needs to be more versatile. Anyway he is an excellent fighter.”

About his future fights: “I’ll be back to the ring pretty soon. I guess I’ll fight in two weeks or so against still undefined opponent”.

About a real fight with Povetkin: “(Laughs) Man! He has no chance. I’ll outpoint him fair and square. Like that! Like that! He ain’t gonna touch me (Laughs)”

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Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs) will fight Taurus Sykes (25-4-1, 7 KOs) in the main event of the show, promoted conjointly by Vladimir Hrunov and Sauerland Event. The event will be organized by Vityaz’ sport club, Nasledie charity foundation and the Moscow Region government. The show starts at 7 PM LT and will be televised live on REN-TV.