By Jake Donovan

Deontay Wilder will get to defend his heavyweight title at home as well as have his fight with Alexander Povetkin.

Hours after his title defense versus Arreola was formally announced to headline a primetime edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Fox, it was learned that Wilder and promoter DiBella Entertaiment (DBE) filed a lawsuit against Povetkin and World of Boxing (WoB). The case stems from Povetkin’s failed drug test that resulted in the cancellation of their May 21 clash in Moscow, for which Wilder and DBE are seeking a minimum of $ 5million in damages.

In a 26-page lawsuit – of which BoxingScene.com has obtained a copy - filed with U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Wilder and DBE insist that by Povetkin testing positive for the recently banned substance Meldonium, WoB fell short on the contracted promise to deliver its fighter. As such, they are filing on the basis of breach of contract, as well as judicial declaration of entitlement to the release of Wilder’s fight purse that was to be held in escrow.

Interestingly, WoB and Povetkin had previously threatened to sue Wilder for $2.5 million as the result of a squabbling over escrow amounts held in advance for the fight. Wilder and DBE demanded that their guaranteed purse of more than $4.5 million (though the specific amount of $4,369,365 is listed in the lawsuit) be held in escrow and delivered to the Escrow Agent no later than 21 days prior to the scheduled bout.

Because Povetkin – who tested positive on April 27 – failed to honor his end of the contract, Wilder and his team believe the held escrow funds should be released “upon joint instruction from both parties or a non-appealable order from a court of competent jurisdiction,” according to the language of the lawsuit.

To date, WoB has refused to consent to release. A letter was submitted through its legal team to Wilder’s counsel on June 1, threatening to sue in the amount of $2.5 million in liquidated damages should Wilder “not immediately agree to allow the Escrow agent to return the Deposit to WoB.”

WoB was on the other side of the equation in a similar situation, also cited in the lawsuit. Its cruiserweight, Denis Lebedev was denied the opportunity to rematch Guillermo Jones – who produced a positive post-fight drug test following their fight in May ’13, in which Jones won by dramatic 11th round knockout in one of the best fights of the year.

Their May ’14 rematch was cancelled on fight night, when it was learned by the World Boxing Association (WBA) – whose cruiserweight title was at stake – that Jones’ pre-fight test came back dirty, thus forcing the alphabet organization to remove its sanctioning from the event.

WoB won a $2 million settlement versus Jones and promoter Don King, but now is placed on the other side of the equation.

Also mapped out in the case is the back-and-forth between camps over the manner in which drug testing would be administered. Wilder and DBE pointed to the Clean Boxing Program as adopted by the World Boxing Council (WBC), whose title the unbeaten Alabaman has held since last January. Under such program, all WBC title bouts are required to come with random testing as conducted by Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).

Expressing concern over lack of neutrality – Wilder and VADA are both based in the United States – WoB sought an independent firm in Switzerland to handle such testing. It is being argued by DBE – on the basis of information provided, although it would have to be revealed should this go to trial – that Povetkin’s side simply wanted less stringent testing as to not get caught undergoing what has been suggested by DBE as sophisticated doping methods.

As a result, a fight whose purses were determined as the result of WoB submitting a winning bid of $7.15 million at a WBC hearing in late February endured a delay of more than a month in getting both fighters enrolled in random testing. The WBC repeatedly intervened, even reminding WoB that all of its fights follow the same protocol.

Both fighters produced negative (clean) tests on April 7, 8 and 11. Povetkin produced a positive (dirty) test on April 27, although WoB has insisted that testing conducted beyond that point has come back clean, and that the amount of Meldonium – which was placed on the banned list on January 1 – was less than the normal amount discovered when athletes dope with intent to cheat.

Wilder has moved on, gaining approval by the WBC – and with the blessing of WoB and Povetkin – to take on a voluntary title defense. Strangely enough, it comes against another heavyweight who recently came up “dirty” during random testing, as Arreola’s 12-round split decision win over Travis Kauffman last December was changed to a No-Contest when it was learned he tested positive for marijuana.

The WBC is still investigating the matter, though with pressure on the sanctioning body in light of a recent ruling on a far more famous athlete who tested positive for Meldonium. International tennis superstar Maria Sharapova was issued a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation based on her drug test results produced earlier this year.

Rarely in boxing have such test results produced such lengthy suspensions. To date, a ruling has not yet been made against Povetkin, who remains the mandatory challenger and is fully expecting what he believes is his due title shot.

For now, his fight will come in a New York City courtroom in front of a jury trial.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2