Povetkin vs. Stiverne Could Be Paired With Lebedev-Gassiev
Oct 7, 2016 • 10:59 PM ET
By Igor Lazorin, tass
Moscow could be in store for a very big doubleheader on December 3rd.
As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, World of Boxing revealed the Khodynka Ice Palace as the finalized venue for the scheduled fight between IBF/WBA cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev and mandatory challenger Murat Gassiev.
On Friday, World of Boxing CEO Andrey Ryabinsky outbid Don King to secure the promotional rights to the mandatory WBC eliminator between Alexander Povetkin and Bermane Stiverne. Ryabinsky - who promotes Povetkin - stamped down a bid of $3.16 million to secure the rights.
Ryabinsky is going to stage Povetkin vs. Stiverne on a date in December in Russia.
The powerful promoter notes that it's possible for Povetkin-Stiverne to land on the same card as Lebedev-Gassiav, but that scenario is far from a done deal at the moment.
The World Boxing Council ordered Povetkin and Stiverne to face each other to establish a mandatory challenger to WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder, who is recovering from injuries that were suffered in his last fight. Wilder suffered a broken hand and a torn biceps muscle in his July knockout of Chris Arreola.
Earlier this year, Lebedev pulled off one of his most impressive victories with a two round destruction of Victor Emilio Ramirez to unify the WBA/IBF world titles before a frenzied crowd in Moscow, Russia. Ironically the fight between Wilder and Povetkin was the scheduled headliner of that card. When the fight fell out, then Lebedev-Ramirez was bumped up to the headliner position.
