Friday, July 23, 2010
World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko's long overdue mandatory defence against Alexander Povetkin, scheduled for Sept. 11 in Germany, is off and Klitschko instead is making plans to face former titleholder Samuel Peter in a rematch on the same day. The fight with Povetkin, who has been training in New Jersey, unravelled when he failed to attend Monday's announcement in Germany. Instead, Klitschko went through with the news conference and mocked Povetkin's absence by using a life-size cardboard cut-out of him in his place and saying he was unsure if Povetkin would go through with a fight to which they'd already agreed.
Povetkin's camp claimed the fighter had a sinus problem and would be unable to fly for 10 days. However, it is common knowledge in boxing circles that there has been a difference of opinion within the Povetkin camp about the fight. His promoters at Sauerland Event have pushed for the bout but Povetkin's management and trainer Teddy Atlas wanted to delay it, believing the fighter wasn't ready to face the No. 1 heavyweight in the world.