By Jeff Aranow: The scheduled May 21 fight between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and #1 WBC mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin is very much in doubts as of Friday after reports have come out from the World Boxing Council that the 36-year-old Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) tested positive for a banned drug meldonium. Povetkin’s positive test for meldonium turned up from the VADA urine testing for the fight.
The WBC says they will be investigating this further. With a positive test for Povetkin, it puts the Wilder vs. Povetkin fight in doubt.
“Two sources with knowledge of test have told ESPN that Povetkin tested positive for meldonium with title fight vs Wilder a week away,” said Dan Rafael on his Twitter. “Status of the Wilder-Povetkin fight is unclear at the moment after Povetkin’s positive test. #boxing. Povetkin’s positive test was in a VADA-conducted urine test.”
The drug testing for the Wilder-Povetkin fight is being done by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
Here’s what the World Boxing Council said about Povetkin in a press release sent out today:
“Today, VADA reported to the WBC and the fighters’ camps the results of an anti-doping test Povetkin underwent from a sample collected on April 27, 2016. VADA’s report states that Povetkin’s sample A showed an adverse result for the banned substance Meldonium.”
It’s unclear what the WBC’s next move will be. They can have the sample B from Povetkin tested to see if that sample of clear. If it is, they might elect to have the Wilder-Povetkin fight take place. However, with a positive test of the Sample-B, it would be up to the WBC to decide whether the fight should take place.
It’s hard to imagine that they would allow it to go ahead because it wouldn’t be an even playing field under those circumstances. Further, Wilder might not want to fight someone that has just tested positive for a banned drug.
The WBC says they will be making an announcement shortly about what they plan on doing with the Wilder vs. Povetkin fight.
The 36-year-old Povetkin was soundly beaten by Wladimir Klitschko two years ago in losing a one-sided 12 round decision in Moscow, Russia. Povetkin has since looked good in winning his last four fights against Carlos Takam, Manuel Charr, Mike Perez and Mariusz Wach. Going into the Wilder fight, Povetkin looks very good. There are many boxing fans who believe that Povetkin should be the favorite in this contest because of how good he’s looked recently. Povetkin made a very high quality fighter in Takam look over-matched recently. The same for Povetkin’s fight against Perez. Povetkin was too strong for Perez. Going into the fight, many people thought Perez would have a good chance of beating Povetkin. That didn’t turn out to be the case.
If Povetkin winds up missing out on the world title shot against Wilder, it would be a huge blow to his career. It look Povetkin two years to get this world title shot after his loss to Wladimir in 2014. Who’s to say that Povetkin could fight his way into position for another shot. Povetkin couldn’t count on fighting the same guys a second time to get into position again. Charr isn’t ranked in the top 15, and Perez has slid off the map as well. Povetkin might need to fight some difficult opponents that can punch back like Joseph Parker, Bermane stiverne, Kubrat Pulev and Johann Duhaupas. Those would be very tough fights for Povetkin to win because those guys are powerful punchers, and big heavyweights. Povetkin would be giving up size and reach against most of them. Stiverne isn’t taller than Povetkin, but he’s a harder puncher with a better jab and longer reach. Povetkin would have his hands full against Povetkin.
Wilder would likely wind up facing the WBC’s next available top contender if Povetkin is suspended by the WBC. That means we could see Wilder face #2 WBC Stiverne or #3 WBC Pulev instead of Povetkin. Wilder already beat Stiverne last year in a one-sided 12 round decision victory. A second fight between them would very likely be similar. Pulev would be a harder fight for the 6’7″ Wilder because Pulev is a tall heavyweight at 6’4 1/2″ and has a great jab and good technical skills. Wilder might have more problems against Pulev than he would facing the shorter 6’2″ Povetkin. It might be a difficult fight for Wilder if the WBC chooses to substitute Pulev in place of Povetkin.
Povetkin is a good heavyweight, but he’s getting up there in age and he’s not very big. If the WBC forces Povetkin to fight better heavyweights the second time around to get in position for a world title shot, he might not be up to the task.