Wilder vs Povetkin getting closer, May 21st date in play for New York

By James Slater - 02/12/2016 - Comments

The current heavyweight division seems to be as slow moving as ever – we are still waiting on a definite date for the big Tyson Fury-Wladimir Klitschko rematch and neither British star Anthony Joshua nor David Haye has announced an opponent for their upcoming bout – but fight fans are slowly but surely getting the fights that matter.

One of these is WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder’s long overdue mandatory defence against the very patient Alexander Povetkin. A great match-up, arguably of the 50-50 variety, this fight could thrill as well as tell us more about both men. Is Wilder the real deal? A commanding win over Povetkin, who has been beaten only by a then peak (or close to it) Wladimir Klitschko, would make it appear he very much is. While a Povetkin win would prove the Russian star is as hungry and as much of a force as he was prior to losing his unbeaten record.

The fight, at last, is close to being nailed down. According to promoter Lou DiBella, who spoke with RingTV.com yesterday, talks are ongoing for the fight to take place at The Barclays Centre in New York on May 21st. It is to be hoped a firm deal can indeed be made – and both Wilder, 36-0(35) (who says he wants to get Povetkin out of the way so he can go for bigger fights, against the likes of Tyson Fury) and Povetkin want the fight – and soon.

WBC boss Mauricio Sulaiman says the fight will go to purse bids on February 26th if no agreement is reached before the two camps before then.

Wilder, a raw power puncher of the most dangerous variety, is coming off that crushing one punch KO of a game Artur Szpilka, while Povetkin, 30-1(22) is coming off a dominant showing against the huge Mariusz Wach, who he beat up and stopped late back in November. Some of the questions fans are looking forward to seeing answered are: what will happen if Wilder lands the kind of punch he decimated Szpilka with on Povetkin’s jaw? What will happen if Povetkin, no slouch of a puncher, cracks Wilder with a short, sharp punch the kind he stunned Mike Perez with in his fight prior to the Wach victory?

It seems we won’t have too much longer to wait for our answers.