By Keith Idec

Deontay Wilder doesn’t expect Bermane Stiverne to get a fair shot in Russia on Saturday.

Canada’s Stiverne has traveled there to regain a version of the WBC heavyweight title and earn another shot at Wilder, who beat him by unanimous decision in their January 2015 title fight in Las Vegas.

Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) considers the odds more than stacked against Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs), who’ll fight Russia’s Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) for the WBC’s interim heavyweight title at the Ekaterinbug Expo in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

“If it’s in [Russia], Povetkin’s gonna win it,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com. “No doubt in my mind. I know in this heavyweight division, it just takes one punch. But there’s a lot going on in this boxing game, especially with these Russians, man.

“Time after time you see them, especially in 2016, it’s been a global thing with them. Especially with the Olympics, with the cheating and stuff like that. You just can’t trust them. You just can’t trust them. In boxing, this sport, you really can’t trust nobody. But they’re a different breed of people.”

Wilder was supposed to fight Povetkin on May 21 in Moscow. Their fight was canceled less than a week in advance because Povetkin failed a performance-enhancing drug test for the banned substance meldonium, which increases blood flow and oxygen to muscles and increases stamina.

The cancelation cost Wilder a $4.36 million guaranteed purse. About four weeks later, Wilder and his promoter, Lou DiBella, filed a lawsuit against Andrey Rabinsky, Povetkin’s promoter, and Povetkin, which sought more than $5 million in damages.

The following week, Rabinsky and Povetkin sued Wilder for at least $34.5 million for breach of contract and defamation.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Wilder went on to stop Chris Arreola (36-5-1, 31 KOs, 2 NC) after eight one-sided rounds in their July 16 title fight in Birmingham, Alabama. He suffered a fractured right hand and a torn right biceps during that victory, however, had surgeries to repair each injury and returned to the gym only a couple weeks ago.

The 2008 Olympian from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is expected to return to the ring either late in February or sometime in March. If Wilder wins that tune-up bout against an undetermined opponent, he’ll face the winner between Stiverne and Povetkin later in 2017.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.