By Igor Lazorin, tass
Russian heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin is pushing hard to secure his mandatory shot at IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO world champion Anthony Joshua.
The World Boxing Association recently ordered Joshua and Povetkin to reach an agreement in 30 days or head off to a purse bid.
There is a good possibility the fight will come off, according to Povetkin's promoter Vadim Kornilov of World of Boxing.
The 38-year-old Povetkin was in action last month at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and scored a brutal knockout victory over David Price. In the main event of that card, Joshua won a twelve round unanimous decision over Joseph Parker to unify the four titles.
But Joshua has his eyes on a potential unification with World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Deontey Wilder.
"Right now the negotiations have being initiated, and I think that within a week everything will be clear," said Kornilov.
"The chances for a fight to happen are very high. Alexander really wants this fight, we'll do everything to make it, and Joshua, I think, will not have options to avoid the fight."
Kornilov also noted that the Povetkin team is not currently considering other opponents.
He believes Povetkin, an Olympic gold medal winner and a former WBA champion at the weight, has a good shot to beat Joshua, who also won Olympic gold.
"Right now Alexander is not even thing about fighting anyone else. Alexander is one of the most experienced fighters in this weight class. Alexander has faced a lot more experienced opponents than Joshua. Povetkin is a top-level fighter who does not need any more experience, he just needs one more opportunity to show what he can do."
On his official record, Joshua has a tally of 21 victories (20 by KO) and no defeats. And on the other end, Povetkin has a record of 34 wins (24 by KO) and one defeat.
