By Jason Kim: Alexander Povetkin (21-0, 15 KO’s) will be tangling with former World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev (27-1-1, 17 KO’s) for the vacant World Boxing Association title belt on August 27th at the Messehalle, Erfurt, Thuringen, Germany.

This is Povetkin’s big chance to finally fight for a heavyweight title after seven long years of grooming to get to this spot. Povetkin could have fought Wladimir Klitschko for a title in the past but at the advice of his trainer he chose not to.

For this fight, Povetkin will be trained by ESPN analyst/trainer Teddy Atlas in Russia. If Povetkin can’t beat the 32-year-old Chagaev for the vacant title it’s unclear who he’s going to be able to beat, because the other heavyweight titles belong to the Klitschko brothers.

The 6’1” Povetkin would probably be too small to beat either of those guys. Chagaev, for his part, was already stopped in the 9th round two years ago by Wladimir. However, there’s a possibility that Chagaev could end up meeting up with Wladimir again if he can beat Povetkin.

It’s going to be a big ask for Chagaev, because he hasn’t looked very good recently in beating Kali Meehan and Travis Walker since the Klitschko loss. Povetkin hasn’t exactly shined either as of late. He looked fairly good in 2008 when he defeated Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers in the International Boxing Federation title eliminator tournament. But it’s been downhill since them, as Povetkin looks slower and not as sharp as he was during that period of his career.

Povetkin will likely win this fight by outworking Chagaev. However, Chagaev could give him some problems with his usual in and out style of fighting.