IBF President Explains Why Povetkin Was Dropped
By Ruslan Chikov
The President of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), Daryl Peoples, spoke to Alexander Pavlov and explained the reasoning for Alexander Povetkin being dropped from the top-fifteen of the organization's heavyweight rankings. Povetkin was dropped after his handlers turned down an invitation to participate in the IBF's tournament to set a mandatory challenger to Wladimir Klitschko.
"We decided to organize a tournament of four fighters, where the winner would become the mandatory challenger for a title fight against current champion Wladimir Klitschko. And we invited Mr. Povetkin to participate, but he refused. Currently, his trainer Teddy Atlas believes that he is not yet ready to fight for the championship belt."
"In my opinion, if you receive a world ranking, it is assumed that you are willing to fight for the world title. And as Povetkin is currently not ready, we have excluded him from the rankings to include those who are interested in participating in the qualifying tournament."
