By Ruslan Chikov
Manager Vladimir Hyrunov is very upset with a recent story that he says is "100% false." In the Russian press, several statements have been published from Emanuel Steward, trainer for WBO/IBO/WBA/IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, where Steward discussed a past meeting with Hyrunov.
During an appearance on the audio program, On The Ropes, Steward reflected on an April 2006 event in Germany, where Klitschko fought Chris Byrd in the main event and Povetkin appeared on the undercard. In Steward's version of the story, Hyrunov approached him to train Povetkin and revealed how the Olympic champion idolized Wladimir. Steward says he turned Hyrunov down.
In Hyrunov's version of the meeting, which he says took place in the presence of Chris Byrd's father, Steward said "why not" when asked if he was open to training Povetkin. Hyrunov told BoxingScene.com that Povetkin never idolized Wladimir.
That bit of information was not the root cause of Hyrunov's anger. Hyrunov was very offended with Steward's story regarding Povetkin's fight with Eddie Chambers in 2008. According to Steward, Wladimir told him that "Povetkin was trying to quit between rounds." Steward, who doesn't understand Russian, said Wladimir translated the trainer/fighter conversations that were taking place between rounds.
"That is a lie. I have a tape of the Chambers fight. I am willing to fly to Austria [where Klitschko is training] to meet face to face with Steward and Wladimir. I will play that tape for them. If they are able to find a single moment where Alexander asked for the fight to be stopped, I will write out a check for $1 million dollars. They should not be making these defamatory comments about Povetkin," Hyrunov told BoxingScene.com.
