By Jake Donovan
Yet another major fight in Russia falls prey to a drug testing scandal. In a surprise twist, however, it is the local boxer who is caught in the crosshairs.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Alexander Povetkin produced a positive drug test for the recently banned supplement Meldonium ahead of his May 21 title challenge versus Deontay Wilder, due to take place at Megasport Arena in Moscow, Russia.
Both camps as well as the World Boxing Council (WBC) were notified of the drug test via official letter from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA). The failed test itself was produced on April 27 with Povetkin’s “A” sample producing “an adverse result for the banned substance Meldonium,” according to a statement from the WBC, who now mandates VADA testing conducted for all of its title fights.
ESPN.com senior writer Dan Rafael was the first to break the news.
The status of the title fight remains in limbo, putting Wilder and his team in an extremely difficult situation from a travel standpoint. Wilder and his immediate training team have been in Sheffield, England since April 30, having moved camp from his hometown in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to better acclimate to the time and climate change.
The defending heavyweight titlist was due to travel from Sheffield to Moscow on Sunday, enough time to rest up and prepare for what was supposed to be a pre-fight press conference to be held on Monday, May 16.
Meanwhile, representatives from DiBella Entertainment – Wilder’s promoter – and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) were due to travel from the U.S. to Moscow on Saturday. The aftermath of the drug test results now has everyone among Team Wilder talking amongst themselves and preparing for the next step.
“Right now, all I can say is that we’ve been made aware of the drug tests, and are having in-depth conversations as to how to proceed,” promoter Lou DiBella informed BoxingScene.com on Friday. “It’s a terrible situation to be in, but there is a lot to take into consideration – chief among them, the safety of the athletes.
"Half of our team is scattered across Europe. The rest are waiting to see what's next. There’s really not much else to say right now.”
Wilder (36-0, 35KOs) was due to make the fourth defense of the title he claimed just 16 months ago in a lopsided points win over Bermane Stiverne. His boxing career – both pro and amateur – has been loaded with milestones. The latest would have him as the first-ever American boxer to defend a piece of the heavyweight title in Russia.
That status came about after World of Boxing, Povetkin’s promoter outbid DiBella Entertainment during a purse bid hearing held in late February in Miami. WoB put up a bid of $7.15 million, outpacing DiBella by more than $2 million in his greatest effort to ensure his boxer was granted every possible advantage.
Recent drug results suggest that Povetkin sought one advantage too many, although his team has already spoken to such results.
Meldonium was commonly used amongst athletes in Eastern Europe, but was placed on the banned list by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as of January 1, 2016. In prescription form, the substance is used as an anti-ischemia medication, used to improve blood flow.
Povetkin’s team openly admit that the boxer had previously taken Meldonium as recent as last fall prior to his 12th round stoppage win over Mariusz Wach last November, at a time when it was still legal to use the substance. The victory was his fifth straight – all by knockout – following the lone loss of his career when he came up well short in his Oct. ’13 title bid versus then-champion Wladimir Klitschko.
“Alexander Povetkin used to take [M]eldonium in September last year, when the drug was permitted,” noted promoter Andriy Ryabinsky through World of Boxing’s verified social media account. “Povetkin has not been taking this drug since January, but theoretically [M]eldonium could remain in the blood.”
While there have been cases of banned substances remaining in an athlete’s system for long periods of time, the most extreme cases of this particular supplement lingering have come in athletes who’ve tested positive in early March.
Both boxers have been enrolled in VADA testing for this title fight since April 1, with both having taken multiple tests. In order to validate the claim from Povetkin’s team, the argument would then have to be either they weren’t testing for this particular substance in his previous submitted samples – or that he was tested for the first time on April 27.
For now, the WBC is awaiting results from the “B” sample before making an official ruling on the fight. In the meantime, the sanctioning body “is conducting an in-depth investigation of this matter. The WBC will make a public announcement in the very near future concerning the results of its investigation and any appropriate steps that it will take.”
What also hasn’t yet been determined is how the main event controversy affects the rest of the stacked card. The evening’s chief support pits Denis Lebedev versus Argentina’s Victor Ramirez in a cruiserweight title unification clash. Also on the show are cruiserweights Dmitry Kudryashov and Rakhim Chakhkiev in separate bouts, both on the heels of knockout losses; as well as red-hot rising light heavyweight Dmitry Bivol (6-0, 6KOs), who is already challenging for an interim title.
Whether or not the show goes on, BoxingScene.com has learned that Showtime – who was still working feverishly to secure U.S. rights in some capacity – will be limited in coverage (if at all) to watching from a monitor while on site for a separate Showtime Championship Boxing event in Las Vegas due to air later that evening.
All of it is moot if the main event is ultimately scrapped in light of the recent drug testing scandal. It’s a decision that is out of Wilder’s hands, with his team left to play the waiting game, devastated over what should be the most celebrated moment of his career to date.
“We’re upset, we’re angry, we’re all very disappointed in this news,” notes DiBella. “What I can't say is that I'm shocked by it.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2
