By Patrick McHugh: With one week to go before next Saturday’s title fight between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (36-0, 25 KOs) and Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs), the fight is still on for May 21 at the Khodnyka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia.
Povetkin, 36, tested positive for the drug meldonium recently.
The World Boxing Council has the final say on whether the Wilder-Povetkin fight takes place next Saturday night or not.
Wilder is keeping a low profile on the subject of Povetkin’s positive drug test. This is a fight that would see Wilder getting a career high payday. If the fight doesn’t take place, then it’s difficult to imagine Wilder making similar money fighting anyone else. Maybe a fight against Anthony Joshua would give Wilder a big payday like that, but maybe not.
“The information you have obtained is accurate,” Wilder’s promoter Lou DiBella said to ESPN.com. “It also contradicts the public statements made by Mr. Ryabinsky attempting to excuse Povetkin’s positive result. If there was a trace amount from 2015 in his system, it would have shown up in the other three tests in April that preceded the positive result. This is a very serious PED because it wasn’t on the (World Anti-Doping Agency) banned list until Jan. 1. This is the type of PED that results in extremely elevated stamina and a fighter performing like the Energizer bunny.”
This information could make it difficult for the WBC’s job that much harder.