By Yuri Tarantin

Ekaterinburg, Russia - Former World Boxing Council (‘WBC’) heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KO’s) says there is no comparison between his failed drug test and the testing failure by upcoming opponent Alexander Povetkin (30-1-0, 22 KO’s).

They are set to battle this Saturday, December 17 at the Ekaterinburg Expo Center in Ekaterinburg, Russia. At the weigh-in on Friday, Povetkin weighed in at 223.7, while Stiverne tipped the scales at 249.3.

The winner of their highly anticipated clash will be the mandatory challenger to current WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

A few weeks ago, Stiverne came up positive for a banned substance in a random drug test issued by well known testing firm VADA After a brief investigation, it was revealed that Stiverne had inadvertently ingested the substance from an energy drink. There were no sanctions and the WBC allowed the fight with Povetkin to go forward.

Back in May, Povetkin was scheduled to fight Wilder, but shortly before the fight was going to take place - it became known that Povetkin had tested positive for meldonium. Povetkin admitted to take the drug last year, when it was still legal. The drug was officially listed as a "banned substance" in January of this year. After a very long investigation, Povetkin was cleared and approved to take part in this eliminator with Stiverne.

"The doping situation for me and Povetkin are completely different. How can you compare an energy drink to what showed up in his test? He (Povetkin) took real dope, and I drank an energy drink," said Stiverne.

"Povetkin is a very good boxer, plus he has a good punch, but he doesn't have anything that I can't deal with. He's a great boxer, it's true. Honestly, I think we are two of the best fighters under the WBC. I am sure that it will be a good fight."

Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru.