Russian boxer Artur Beterbiev, who tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of 2020, announced that he was returning to training.

Beterbiev, the WBC and IBF light heavyweight champion of the world, said he had contracted the coronavirus on December 29.

Due to the illness, the fight between Beterbiev and the German boxer Adam Deines, which was scheduled for January 30 and was going to be held at the VTB Arena in Moscow, was postponed to a later date.

"Back to training," the dangerous puncher told overseas media.

Initially, the fight between Beterbiev and Deines could have taken place in October, but the Russian fighter withdrew with an injured. Then their battle was postponed to December 11 in Moscow, but also did not take place due to a scheduling conflict with television networks.

35-year-old Beterbiev has a record of 15 wins (15 by knockout) and not a single defeat. The 29-year-old Deines has 19 wins (10 by knockout), one defeat and one draw.

Prior to these delays, Beterbiev had to make a mandatory defense against Meng Fanlong of China. That fight was completely called off due to traveling restrictions pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beterbiev has been away from the ring since October of 2019, when he picked up the biggest win of his career with a stoppage of Ukraine's Oleksandr Gvozdyk to unify the WBC and IBF titles.

He's hoping to get very busy in the new year, as the goal remains the same - to unification of the entire weight class.