by Ryan Burton

Over the weekend BoxingScene.com caught up with WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

One of the biggest issues that Sulaiman has been dealing with over the past several weeks is Alexander Povetkin's positive drug test. The Russian heavyweight contender tested positive for Meldonium, a substance that was banned by WADA at the start of the 2016 calendar year.

Povetkin tested positive for a trace amount of the substance prior to his May 21st scheduled bout against WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Povetkin has since tested clean and both teams have filed lawsuits against each other for damages for various reasons including lost purses. 

One of the outstanding issues is Povetkin's status as the WBC mandatory challenger. In light of the test, Wilder was given permission by the sanctioning body to face Chris Arreola in July in a stay busy fight and broke his hand and tore his biceps muscle in the process.

BoxingScene.com asked Sulaiman if they are close to resolving the issues and if a WBC interim title bout may be ordered while Wilder recovers from surgery.

"As we said - we have been assessing the topic only through the WBC newsletter and there will be another one coming soon. We have had meetings with both camps, each of their representatives and we are addressing the situation. It is very scientific. We will be speaking about it in the near future," said Sulaiman.

When pressed for a more finite date Sulaiman would only say, "Fairly soon."

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