By Miguel Rivera
The World Boxing Council is anticipating that Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33KOs) will make the first mandatory defense of his title against Alexander Povetkin (29-1, 21 KOs) of Russia in the first quarter of 2016.
Negotiations are going to be ordered around the month of October. If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, a purse bid is likely for November.
Wilder made a voluntary defense last month when he knocked out Eric Molina in nine rounds. Povetkin became the mandatory challenger when he knocked out Mike Perez in one round, on May 22nd.
The champion is planning to make a voluntary defense of the belt on September 26th, with Chris Arreola as the rumored opponent to land the fight.
Povetkin has stated in interviews that he might take a break from ring and wait for the shot against Wilder to be negotiated. He won't be relaxing during his time off. Povetkin plans to stay in shape by continuing to train on a regular basis.
