By Ruslan Chikov

Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin (21-0, 15KOs) is "tired of waiting" for a title shot. He tells Izvestia that he's "ripe and ready to fight for the championship." Povetkin, like David Haye, has been talking about a Klitschko fight for several years. After two years of negotiations, Haye finally stepped in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night in Germany and lost a twelve round decision. 

Povetkin has been scheduled to fight Wladimir twice, and both times he withdrew. The first time, in 2008, he withdrew with a leg injury. He was later replaced by Hasim Rahman. The second time, in 2008, he refused to finalize a deal within a specified time period, which the IBF issues to both sides. Later it was revealed that Povetkin's trainer, Teddy Atlas, advised his boxer to avoid the fight, because Atlas felt Povetkin wasn't ready to face Klitschko.

Povetkin is back in position to go for a title. Under the WBA, Povetkin is the number two ranked contender. The sanctioning organization is likely going to order a final eliminator between Povetkin and the number one ranked contender, Rulsan Chagaev. Povetkin would like to avoid the eliminator and instead face Klitschko directly.