The 34 year-old, who suffered his only loss to unified king Wladimir Klitschko last time out, battered a tired Charr to the ground with a sweet left-right combination and referee Massimo Barrovecchio immediately waved off the contest without a count.
Home favourite Povetkin improved his record to 27-1 with the thudding victory, claiming the WBC International title in the process, and giving himself a handy push up the rankings for a possible future challenge at current title holder Bermane Stiverne.
On the undercard, Rakhim Chakhkiev, 31, defeated Colombian Santander Silgado via a unanimous decision to inflict just a second loss on the 29 year-old’s record and push his own to 19-1.
Eduard ‘The Eagle’ Troyanovky kept up his impressive unbeaten record with a fourth round stoppage victory over late stand-in Anton Bekish. The 18-0 lightweight halted Bekish 48 seconds into the session for his 15th career knockout.
Also at the Luzhniki Stadium , there were triumphs for Aslanbek Kozaev, Segey Lipinets and Evgeny Smirmov, the latter two being debutants on the card.
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