Alexander Povetkin at 39 years of age knows that this weekend’s title shot against Anthony Joshua in London could very well be his last shot at the big time.

At this stage of the game Povetkin is a seasoned veteran who’s seen it all in boxing.

Amateur and pro.

But every now and then even the experienced Russian gets surprised by his competition.

During a recording at the first press conference against Joshua, a microphone on Sky documentary ‘Behind The Ropes’ picked up on the following from Povetkin when he first sized Joshua up in the flesh:

“He’s tall (speaking to a team member about Joshua.)”

To which his team member joked:

“Maybe he’s had his legs stretched.”

Povetkin replied:

“I don’t know about that!”

Getting inside the reach of Anthony Joshua will be a key factor to any success Povetkin is looking to have this weekend.

He’s done it before in his career – time will tell if he can do it again.