Eddie Hearn, promoter for WBA, IBO, IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), has revealed that the upcoming fight between Alexander Povetkin and Christian Hammer could very well get sanctioned as a WBA final eliminator for a mandatory crack at Joshua.
Hammer (22-4, 12 KOs) and former world champion Povetkin (32-1, 23 KOs) will collide on December 15 in Yekaterinburg.
The contest is already sanctioned as final eliminator for a crack at World Boxing Organization champion Joseph Parker.
In the recently released WBA rankings, Povetkin is now ranked at 2, while Hammer is ranked at 3. The number one ranked fighter is Fres Oquendo and he's been ordered to fight Manuel Charr for the WBA "regular" title.
The prior WBA mandatory was Luis Ortiz, but last month he was suspended and removed from the rankings for a failed drug test.
Povetkin is the favorite to beat Hammer and Hearn admits that he's already had the Russian boxer on his mind.
Like Joshua, Povekin is an Olympic gold medal winner. The only defeat on his record, came in 2013, when he lost a twelve round decision to Wladimir Klitschko.
"I'm due to speak to [WBA president] Gilberto Mendoza, who may come to the UK in December," Hearn said to Sky Sports. "Luis Ortiz was the mandatory but has been banned so there will be a new one.
"Manuel Charr has won the 'regular' title but they are not looking at him as a mandatory challenger. Alexander Povetkin is fighting Christian Hammer which could be the final eliminator to be Joshua's mandatory."
"We have spoken about Joshua vs Povetkin, and the likelihood of that. We have a really good relationship with World of Boxing, who are his promoters. They have a situation where they can fight a final eliminator to be the mandatory for Joshua, or for the WBO, so they are making that decision now."
