By Luke Furman

Russia's Alexander Povetkin (33-1, 23 KOs) is really looking forward to his upcoming fight with British contender David Price.

The fight was finalized last week for the undercard to the WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO heavyweight unification between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker, which takes place on March 31 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Price, an Olympic bronze medal winner, is a huge underdog in the fight - but Povetkin is not overlooking him.

The reason that contest was placed on the card, is because Povetkin is the WBA's mandatory challenger to Joshua's title.

Their respective promoters have already discussed the idea of matching their boxers in the summer.

Of course all of that could change if Parker or Price come out victorious.

"[Price] is a tall contender, it is necessary to properly prepare for the fights with him. Fights with tall opponents is my weak point. It is necessary to work on fighting him at a short distance," Povetkin told Sergey Starikov.

Two fights back, Price was knocked out by Christian Hammer. And Povetkin dominated Hammer over twelve rounds last December.

"Price was not physically ready for the fight with Hammer. He had a good fight, but he was very tired. It is clearly seen that he did not fall from the punches [but from fatigue]. Perhaps there were some problems in the preparation," Povetkin said.

"At heavyweight, every punch can be decisive. I never think about whether or not that I'm the favorite or the underdog."

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, who returns against Luis Ortiz on March 3rd, is also pushing to get a crack at Joshua. The Olympic gold medal winner, Povetkin, believes he will get there first.

"The fight with Price is a springboard for a fight with Joshua," Povetkin said.

"I think the fight between Joshua and Wilder is still just a rumor. It will be very difficult for them to reach an agreement. As far as I know, there are certain agreements between my promoter and a representative of Joshua. Right now I'm not fighting against Joshua. Therefore, we will talk about his strengths and weaknesses later on."