By Rick Reeno
Greg Cohen, promoter of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41KOs), advised BoxingScene.com that his company will not allow Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16KOs) to make a July defense of his WBA "regular" championship.
Rahman had been scheduled to face Povetkin next Saturday night in Hamburg, but suffered a minor wrist injury that required surgery and a few weeks of rehab. Cohen tells BoxingScene that Rahman will be ready to fight as early as August, but he doesn't expect the Povetkin rematch to take place until an television date in Germany becomes available - pushing the fight to a likely September date.
Povetkin's manager Vladimir Hryunov, who also promotes major events in Russia, was planning to stage a card with Povetkin on July 21 or July 28 in Moscow. According to Cohen, there are stipulations in the contact, related to either fighter suffering a possible injury, which prevents Povetkin from taking an interim-fight.
Cohen has notified the WBA, which set Rahman as the mandatory challenger, of the ongoing situation. Cohen is also having continued discussions with Sauerland Event, who promote Povetkin, to finalize a new date.
