By Igor Lazorin, tass
As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Olympic gold medal winner and former champion Alexander Povetkin confirmed that no agreement has been reached as of yet for a mandatory title shot against World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
The World Boxing Council had as purse bid scheduled for February 26th in Mexico City, but Povetkin's promoter Andrei Ryabinsky of World of Boxing says the purse bid has been moved to the United States.
Wilder retained his title last month with a ninth round knockout of Artur Szpilka at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The teams behind Wilder and Povetkin have been discussing the possibility of a date in late May for the same venue.
In multiple interviews that appeared on BoxingScene.com, Wilder said he was hungry to get Povetkin in the ring and demanded to face his mandatory challenger as soon as possible.
In the opinion of Povetkin, Wilder can say whatever he wants but he needs to back it up by actually getting in the ring with him. If Wilder's handlers win the upcoming purse bid, Povetkin has no problem with traveling to the United States.
"He likes to say that he has such a mentality [that he'll fight anyone, anywhere]. He can talk all he wants, but everything has to be shown the ring. I'm not used to talking badly about people and boxers. If the fight will take place in the United States, there will probably be less pressure on me," Povetkin stated.
Ryabinsky feels very confident with the purse bid process. Back in 2013 he bid a huge $23 million to secure the rights to Povetkin's mandatory fight with Wladimir Klitschko.
"We have some time to reach an agreement," Ryabinsky said. "We are preparing for the purse bid, which was earlier scheduled in Mexico on February 26 and now is relocated to the US. The purse bid is even more convenient for us. Everything is objective, the side offering the most money will organize the bout."
Wilder is undefeated with 36 wins (35 by KO). Povetkin has 30 wins (22 by KO) and one defeat by decision to Klitschko.
The Russian fighter was in the ring last November, when he stopped Marisuz Wach in the twelfth round. Povetkin has been the mandatory challenger since last May. Wilder has been allowed to make three voluntary defenses and the WBC is not going to allow any further interruptions. The purse bid will be interesting with Povetkin's promoter looking to take the fight to Russia if he wins the bid - and Wilder being resistant to facing Povetkin in his backyard.