Alexander Povetkin v Bermane Stiverne

[Master]

Alexander Povetkin battles Bermane Stiverne for right to challenge WBC king Deontay Wilder

WBC champion Deontay Wilder will find out his mandatory challenger when Alexander Povetkin fights Bermane Stiverne this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

The American heavyweight will be ordered to defend his title against the winner of Povetkin's WBC final eliminator against Stiverne in Russia, with live coverage starting at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 4.

Povetkin received home advantage after his promoters tabled a reported purse bid of $3million and has rebuilt his reputation with four straight stoppage wins after his first defeat, a one-sided stoppage by Wladimir Klitschko in 2013.

Alexander Povetkin battles Bermane Stiverne for right to challenge WBC king Deontay Wilder | Boxing News | Sky Sports

[brocktonblockbust]

Alexander Povetkin battles Bermane Stiverne for right to challenge WBC king Deontay Wilder

WBC champion Deontay Wilder will find out his mandatory challenger when Alexander Povetkin fights Bermane Stiverne this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

The American heavyweight will be ordered to defend his title against the winner of Povetkin's WBC final eliminator against Stiverne in Russia, with live coverage starting at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 4.

Povetkin received home advantage after his promoters tabled a reported purse bid of $3million and has rebuilt his reputation with four straight stoppage wins after his first defeat, a one-sided stoppage by Wladimir Klitschko in 2013.

Alexander Povetkin battles Bermane Stiverne for right to challenge WBC king Deontay Wilder | Boxing News | Sky Sports

Stiverne was oddly inactive during that Wilder fight. I think Bermaine will regain the title somehow.

[Beanz]

WBC pulls sanctioning and looks like the fight will probably be called off

Stiverne is Furious: Povetkin Fight is OFF - I'm Heading Home! - Boxing News

[ross]

He's wasting everyone's time!

maybe Stiverne can now face Arreola agin like Wilder did!

Povetkin can face Browne (who it looks like has come off Twitter) for the steroid championship of the world.

[Master]

Povetkin needs to be banned for life.

[ross]

Stiverne has refused to fight, fair play but Iv just read Johan Duhaupas is stepping in to face Povetkin instead. He was supposed to be fighting Takam January 28 and hasn't fought since knocking Helenius out in April. Will he even be fit on a few hours notice?

[Freedom]

What makes no sense is why the positive result was announced after the weigh-in for the fight.

And Povetkin tested negative 5 times before the positive result.

Something doesn't add up. How do you get busted on a test just before the fight but not tests leading up to it? It's like he juiced the day before the fight - but that wouldn't do anything for him, it takes time to work. Some might use an illegal substance to make weight, but this was heavyweight so weight is not an issue.

Either VADA is incompetent (some of their testing that should have busted him a long time ago, didn't) or corrupt (they purposely withheld failed tests until the last minute). And while I'm not claiming this as a fact, a third possibility that VADA falsifies results.

And if he was using, why did Povetkin agree to VADA? No one was forcing you him to do it, so why even take the risk?