By Hilmar Rojas
While many believed Tuesday's shocking heavyweight bid was a record-breaker, it still only comes in second to the main title holder. As first reported on BoxingScene.com, Russian promoter Vladimir Hryunov set down a monster bid of $23,200,000 million dollars to overwhelm the competition at the WBA's mandatory heavyweight purse bid, securing the rights to the championship fight between Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50KOs) and Alexander Povetkin (25-0, 17KOs). K2 Promotions put in a bid of $7.1 million dollars and Sauerland Event bid 6.01 million.
But the record-holder is still standing strong. The record purse bid amount was made in 1990, when Las Vegas business icon Steve Wynn bid $32.1 million to secure the rights to the heavyweight bout between champion James "Buster" Douglas and challenger Evander Holyfield. The headquarters of the fight was the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas on October 25, 1990, and Holyfield won by knockout. The purse was divided with $ 8.025 million for Holyfield, and $24.075 million for Douglas.
Hryunov is looking to stage Klitschko-Povetkin on August 31 in Russia, Germany or Las Vegas.
